Rajasthan Royals is just a win away from qualifying for the IPL playoffs. The Royals have to thank two players in particular for allowing them to hope going into their last league match. While everyone is raving — and rightly so — about the incredible Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Jofra Archer’s contribution hasn’t received as much attention.

It was his brilliant final over that ensured Sooryavanshi would have to chase a lesser target against Lucknow Super Giants in the must-win encounter at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) . In LSG’s last over, just five runs came, not to mention the loss of three wickets.

It was a fine comeback by the Barbados-born England quick after disappointing in the PowerPlay. In the first half of the IPL this season, it was his fast and furious spells in the PowerPlay that broke the back of the rival teams’ batting.

With the new ball, he would deliver some awkward balls, some of which would climb menacingly into the batter. With the South African left-armer Nandre Burger, he formed probably the season’s most lethal new-ball attack.

Archer has been a trusted servant for Royals since landing in Jaipur in 2018. He hadn’t made his senior international debut yet. After being discovered, and taken along to Sussex, by fellow-Bajan Chris Jordan, he was serving the waiting period to play for England.

He had already been fascinated with the IPL. “I always wanted to play at the IPL but didn’t know how,” he had told this correspondent back then. Royals made it easier for him, spending Rs. 7.2 crore. Except for one season, in 2023 when he turned up for Mumbai Indians, he has always been with the Rajasthan franchise.

After taking 15 wickets in his first season, he took 20 in the 2020 edition, in which he was also the Most Valuable Player. Royals need him to breathe fire in Mumbai on Sunday (May 24, 2026).

Assistant coach Parthiv Patel said Gujarat Titans would look to maximise the impact of its pace attack against Rajasthan Royals by striking early in Saturday’s (May 9, 2026) Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

“If we get wickets at the start, then we have quite an upper hand in the game. Our plans are quite set, and we are quite comfortable with the way we are playing right now. With the kind of bowling attack we have, we would want to restrict them to the minimum score possible,” he said on Friday.

Parthiv reserved special praise for the new-ball pair of Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada, highlighting the pressure they have created in recent matches.

“Both are highly performing players at the international level. You know the pedigree both of them bring, especially with the new ball. Rabada bowling 150 kph consistently and the way Siraj has been putting pressure — it’s great to see.”

He also hailed the influence of Jason Holder, calling him “that proper all-rounder” capable of anchoring an innings or finishing aggressively, while also bringing tactical awareness with the ball.

Parthiv also praised Rajasthan youngsters Ashok Sharma and Manav Suthar, calling the former “a very good prospect” with “a very bright future for India” while highlighting the latter’s maturity and consistency in domestic cricket.

In 2023 and 2024, Gujarat Titans treated Jaipur like an away ATM: insert XI, withdraw points. Then came 2025, and the machine jammed.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (101, 38b) didn’t just break it — he rewired it mid-game. Suddenly, GT wasn’t the disruptor anymore. Saturday’s (May 9, 2026) Indian Premier League (IPL) match now poses a simple question — Rajasthan Royals to draw level, or GT to reassert control?

There are grounds where 180 sits on the board like a mob boss at a nightclub — untouchable, respected, radiating consequences. The Sawai Mansingh Stadium this season has not been one of them.

Here, the scoreboard has behaved like a slot machine in a provincial casino. Targets aren’t safe, and batters have swung as if the boundary cushions owe them money.

That doesn’t entirely align with the blueprint behind GT’s three-match winning streak — the bowlers to contain, the target to remain modest, the chase to unfold without panic. It has won seven out of seven chases of 170 or below since 2025.

Kagiso Rabada has rediscovered rhythm with the new ball, claiming four wickets at an economy of 6.89 in the PowerPlay across the last three matches. Significantly, three of those dismissals have come through short and short-of-length deliveries. Mohammed Siraj has been equally incisive, taking four wickets at 6.44 in the same phase.

Their duel with RR’s explosive openers — Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi — could be the night’s defining match-up. Jason Holder’s return of seven wickets at 6.94 adds further control to GT’s attack.

With captain Riyan Parag striking form and Donovan Ferreira shaping into a terrific finisher, RR’s middle order has contributed more consistently over the last two games.

GT’s, meanwhile, remains vulnerable. Including its last match against Punjab Kings, GT’s Nos. 4 to 7 have averaged only 22 since the last IPL — the second-lowest among all teams in that period. RR has enough bowling variety to expose and target that weakness in search of its first win here this season.

Much of the work had been done by K.L. Rahul and Pathum Nissanka with their century stand for the opening wicket, but Delhi Capitals still needed somebody to finish the job, in its desperate bid to end a losing streak and to keep itself in contention in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

Ashutosh Sharma put his hand up. His unbeaten 25 off 15 balls, and his unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 49 with Tristan Stubbs, helped Capitals score a seven-wicket victory against Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Friday (May 1, 2026) night.

About 300 kms separate Delhi and Jaipur. The difference in quality of the cricket played by the franchises from the two northern Indian cities has been greater this IPL season.

While Rajasthan Royals is well placed to claim a berth in the playoffs, Delhi Capitals is lying in the bottom half. And after that nightmare of a match at home against Royal Challengers Bengaluru earlier this week, Axar Patel’s men have to come up with a much better effort against Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Friday (May 1, 2026).