Rajasthan Royals (RR) will travel to take on their western rivals, the Gujarat Titans (GT), in Match 9 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The venue is set to host its first game after hosting the 2026 T20 World Cup final against India and New Zealand.
RR had a winning start to their new campaign in Guwahati, where they secured an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The win was set up by the fast bowlers, particularly Jofra Archer
and Nandre Burger, who took two wickets each. RR restricted CSK to a mere 127 with the returning Ravindra Jadeja taking two scalps as well.
Chasing a modest 128, the 2008 champions were never really in doubt of going off track, thanks to an aggressive start provided to them by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 15-year-old opener scored 52 off just 17 balls to make the chase a foregone conclusion by the time he went back to the pavilion.
A winning start to the season could see RR making little to no changes to their playing XI when they face GT. The team already has a good combination of attacking openers, strong finishers, and excellent balance between spin and seam bowling.
Here is RR’s strongest predicted XI vs GT, Match 9, IPL 2026:
Top Order: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Riyan Parag (C)
One of the strongest opening pairs in the IPL this season, RR can always rely on their top two to provide them with a fast start to their innings. Sooryavanshibats with more intent, while Yashasvi Jaiswal complements him really well in having a huge score after the powerplay.
Captain Riyan Parag also has a huge responsibility on his shoulders to not only replace Sanju Samson as a leader in the dressing room, but also as a reliable number three.
Middle Order: Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja
RR’s middle order is also one that has a lot of firepower. Dhruv Jurel will lead the proceedings during the tricky middle overs. Last season, the wicketkeeper-batter scored at a strike-rate of 156.33, which shows his ability to score quickly when the field is spread out after the powerplay.
Shimron Hetmyer, meanwhile, is the team’s designated finisher with Ravindra Jadeja to follow. RR could also bring in Donovan Ferriera as an Impact Sub to provide them with even more attacking prowess lower down the order.
Bowlers: Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma
Archer and Burgerare two of the best bowlers when it comes to using the new ball to take early wickets by extracting the swing in the air. Their left-hand and right-hand combination also troubles the batters and does not allow them to settle down.
The spin department is taken care of by the presence of Ravi Bishnoi and Jadeja, with the former giving away just 16 runs from his three overs against CSK.
Rajasthan Royals’ predicted playing XI:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Riyan Parag (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma
Impact Player: Donovan Ferreira
