Rashid Khan, Gujarat Titans’ ever-reliable all-rounder, promised fireworks but couldn’t quite deliver the impact his side hoped for in their IPL 2025 clash against Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, April 9. Walking in at No. 7 with just under two overs to go, Rashid made his intent crystal clear from the outset.
The Afghan all-rounder launched the very first ball he faced for a six, sending a strong message to the RR camp. He followed that up with a crisp boundary and a quick double, hinting at the trademark late-innings surge fans have come to expect from the Afghan superstar. But the cameo was all too brief. On just the fourth delivery he faced, Rashid attempted to get cheeky.
Tushar Deshpande, executing his plan to perfection, bowled a sharp short-of-length ball with no room to work with. Rashid tried a no-look flick, hoping to catch the field off guard.
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However, Yashasvi Jaiswal had other ideas. Positioned inside the circle, the young opener showed outstanding reflexes, flinging himself to his right and clutching onto a stunning low catch that brought Rashid’s fireworks to an abrupt end.
No-look shot from Rashid but Jaiswal saw that coming 🦅
🎥 Yashasvi Jaiswal pulls off a blinder to cut short Rashid Khan’s cameo 🩷
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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 9, 2025
Earlier in the innings, Gujarat had suffered an early blow with Shubman Gill falling cheaply. But Jos Buttler and Sai Sudharsan took charge, stitching together a solid partnership to keep the scoreboard ticking. Once Buttler departed, Rajasthan made further inroads, briefly slowing GT’s momentum. Yet, Sudharsan held the innings together brilliantly, remaining unbeaten and steering Gujarat Titans to an imposing 217/6 at the end of 20 overs.
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Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande
