Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals: 118 all out (17.5 overs) lost to Gujarat Titans: 119/1 (13.5 overs) by nine wickets.

Read play-by-play updates here.

Rajasthan Royals endured a nine-wicket loss to defending champions Gujarat Titans in their IPL tie at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Friday. 

Opting to bat first, the Royals began well with Yashasvi Jaiswal continuing from where he left off in the last game. But the youngster couldn’t carry on for long as he was run out soon. Later, though, skipper Sanju Samson (30 off 20) tried to push the team ahead, but fell at just the wrong time to leave his team in a spot of bother. The tinge of grass visible on a tricky surface meant that no batter was able to sustain the unpredictability it offered. The GT pacers enjoyed some early swing and were then boosted by the performance of their spin department. As a result, the hosts were restricted skittled out to 118 in the 18th over.

In reply, the Titans had little trouble completing the chase. Shubman Gill (36) and Wriddhiman Saha (41*) started brightly while captain Hardik Pandya (39*) brought the team home in what was the 50th IPL match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. The 9-wicket loss means that the Royals are now in fourth position on the IPL 2023 points table, while the Titans continue to be atop with 14 points.

Skipper Sanju leads a lone fight

Coming into the match on the back of his maiden century in the IPL, Yashasvi was hoping to continue his rich vein of form. And the youngster made his intentions clear when he tonked Mohammad Shami for a maximum in the third over. While Jaiswal showed his class at one end, skipper Sanju joined in from the other and let loose against Hardik with a boundary and a six in consecutive deliveries. 

But just when the hosts were looking good with Sanju and Jaiswal putting together a 36-run stand, a miscommunication between the two saw Jaiswal being run out. Sanju, in the company of Devdutt Padikkal, tried to steer the Royals’ ship to safety. However, the experienced batter had to return after a momentary lapse in concentration saw him sky a length ball from Joshua Little. Later, a Trent Boult cameo pushed the Royals' total beyond the 100-run mark.

Chasing a modest total, the Titans reached the target in the 14th over with Gill and Saha leading the charge. Though Yuzvendra Chahal sent Gill packing midway through the chase, it was a too bitlittle too late to change the outcome of the match. 

“We had a very tough night, didn't really have a good Powerplay to start with and struggled against the spinners.We need to pull our socks up, a couple of crucial games coming up and we are looking forward to winning games in the next couple of weeks,” Sanju said at the post-match presentation.