Gujarat Titans take on Rajasthan Royals in Match 9 of IPL 2026. This is the Titans’ first home game of the season and the first game of IPL 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. GT are coming on the back of a fighting loss to Punjab Kings, where they failed to defend a total of 163, despite great bowling at the back end to pull the game back.
RR, on the other hand, crushed Chennai Super Kings in their opening game at the Barasapara Stadium in Guwahati. They bowled the Super Kings out for 127 before chasing it down with more than seven overs to spare.
Here are 3 key player battles for GT vs RR, Match 9, IPL 2026:
3. Jos Buttler vs Ravindra Jadeja
Ravindra Jadeja’s return to the pink of the Royal was a successful one, picking up two wickets in his first over, against the Chennai Super Kings. With all his experience, he is Rajasthan’s lead spinner and will be expected to carry on the performance from Guwahati. Up against him is Jos Buttler, coming off the back of a woeful T20 World Cup. The English wicketkeeper-batter did not look at his fluent best in his 38 against the Punjab Kings.
The pair have faced off in eight innings in the IPL, with the Englishman scoring 73 runs off 50 balls against the left-arm spinner. The runs have come at a strike rate of 132.07, and Jadeja has dismissed Buttler twice in that span.
2. Yashasvi Jaiswal vs Mohammed Siraj
While Yashasvi Jaiswal was mostly a spectator to Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s heroics in Guwahati, he is still the senior Indian batter on the Royals side. His major threat comes from Mohammed Siraj, who had a reinvention as the Titans' new-ball man in 2025. The pair, regulars for India’s Test team, now come up against each other in a quest for bragging rights.
The pair have come up against each other in eight innings in the tournament, with Jaiswal scoring 60 runs off 44 balls against Siraj, at a strike rate of 136.36. Siraj has just been able to dismiss the left-hander just once in their meetings.
1. Shubman GIll vs Jofra Archer
Shubman Gill was dropped from the Indian team for the T20 World Cup in a substantial snub ahead of the IPL season. He enters the season with a point to prove and regains his place in the T20 team. His main threat comes from England’s Jofra Archer, who had an impressive outing against the Chennai Super Kings, picking up two wickets.
In the six innings that the pair have met in, the matchup is in Archer’s favour. In six innings, Gill has just been able to score 16 runs in 19 balls, at a strike rate of 84.21. Archer has dismissed Gill three times in this span and will look to add to that count when these two teams meet.
