Star England and Rajasthan Royals pacer Jofra Archer has revealed that he was supposed to bowl the 20th over and Tushar Deshpande the penultimate one, but skipper Riyan Parag changed his mind and did the opposite, a masterstroke that took Rajasthan to their second consecutive win in IPL 2026.
Deshpande delivered a masterclass under pressure, nailing six successive balls in the blockhole or wide yorker zone in a brilliant display of death bowling, as Rajasthan Royals held their nerve to beat Gujarat Titans by a narrow six-run margin.
This was the Royals’ second consecutive victory in the tournament, while the Ashish Nehra-coached GT side has now lost two games in a row.
“Riyan changed his mind. He (Deshpande) was going to bowl the 19th and I was going to bowl the last.
Everything that could have gone right in the field went right and I am proud of the boys,” Archer said while speaking to the host broadcasters.
Riding on fifties from Dhruv Jurel (75 off 42 balls) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (55 off 36 balls ), the Royals scored a whopping 210/6 in their 20 overs.
Archer, himself one of the best exponents of hard length and block hole balls, was all praise for Deshpande as he executed the blockhole balls.
“Practice and a game can be two different things. It is just about adapting,” Archer said.
Despite Sai Sudharsan’s classy 73, the Gujarat Titans were in deep trouble at 161/7 before Kagiso Rabada (23*) and stand-in captain Rashid Khan (24) stitched together a late surge, bringing the equation down to 10 needed off the final over.
Rashid and Rabada had brought GT to the brink of a win, but the former fell at a crucial moment, offering a catch that Archer pouched in the deep.
“Initially, when he hit it, I thought it was going to six. I just ran and hoped for the best and thankfully it went in,” Archer said.
Rajasthan Royals will next play the Mumbai Indians on Tuesday in Guwahati.
