‘He will come back strongly’: Stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal defends THIS star after RR’s heavy loss to GT

Rajasthan Royals stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal defended his bowling attack after the team suffered a heavy 77-run loss against Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday. Rajasthan struggled to stop Gujarat’s aggressive batting and later collapsed during the chase despite a quick start in the powerplay.

Gujarat Titans posted a massive 229/4 after Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan dominated with another excellent opening partnership. In reply, Rajasthan Royals were bowled out for 152 in 16.3 overs as Rashid Khan turned the game with a brilliant four-wicket spell.

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Yashasvi Jaiswal backs RR bowlers after heavy defeat

Jaiswal admitted Gujarat’s batters made life difficult for Rajasthan’s bowlers by constantly finding boundaries and keeping the pressure on throughout the innings.

“We were just thinking to bowl in good areas and they were batting pretty well. So we were just thinking how we can cut down the boundaries or big shots. So I think it was pretty good from them,” Jaiswal said after the match.

Also Read: ‘This was our…’: Shubman Gill reveals what changed in Gujarat Titans’ dominant victory over Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026 clash

Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill dominate in Jaipur

Rajasthan Royals never really managed to control the scoring rate after Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill got settled at the crease. The Gujarat openers attacked in the powerplay and continued to score freely during the middle overs as RR’s bowlers failed to build pressure consistently.

Jofra Archer also had a difficult outing and conceded heavily without taking a wicket. However, Jaiswal refused to criticise the England pacer and backed him to bounce back strongly.

“It’s cricket. We all know that there’s some days where you are in, there’s some days where you cannot bowl how you want. But he’s been doing so well for us, I think. So I think he’’l be coming back very strongly,” he said.

Jaiswal explains Nandre Burger selection call

Rajasthan Royals had made changes to their bowling combination by leaving out left-arm pacer Nandre Burger before the match. Jaiswal said the decision was based mainly around the team’s powerplay bowling plans.

“I actually didn’t think that much. I had simple plan who is my bowler and who can give me some good overs in the powerplay. So nothing much from my end,” Jaiswal stated.

RR’s quick start goes in vain during chase

Despite chasing a huge target, Rajasthan Royals started aggressively with youngster Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel attacking from the beginning.

Vaibhav smashed 36 runs off just 16 balls, while Jurel added a quick 24 off 10 deliveries as RR raced to 78/3 inside the first six overs. However, Gujarat Titans quickly pulled the game back once Rashid Khan entered the attack.

The Afghan spinner dismissed key batters in the middle overs and completely broke Rajasthan’s momentum as wickets kept falling regularly.

Jaiswal wants RR to move on quickly

The stand-in captain said Rajasthan Royals now need to focus on learning from the defeat and preparing better for the upcoming matches in IPL 2026.

“Nothing much. I think we are going to look what we can do better and just look for the next game, what we can do and learn from this game,” he said.

The loss pushed Rajasthan Royals down the table and also damaged their net run rate, while Gujarat Titans picked up two important points in the playoff race.

Also Read: IPL 2026 Points Table: Gujarat Titans strengthen playoff hopes with huge win over Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur