There are few better sights in world cricket than Jofra Archer making the batters huff and puff before rattling their stumps. The format, the batter, and the conditions hardly matter when Archer is on song. Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill was at the receiving end of Archer’s fury in an IPL 2025 match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
After bowling a couple of snorters to Sai Sudharshan in the first over of the match, Archer pitched one up to Shubman Gill in the first ball of his second over. The 147 km/h rocket shaped in. Gill, who has often been guilty of staying rooted to the crease early on in his innings, went for a booming drive, leaving a big gap between his bat and pad.
The ball gleefully accepted the invitation and rushed through the gate to uproot Gill’s off stump. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was in the commentary box at the time, did not take a second to point out the fault in Gill’s technique. “Yawning gap between bat and pad. What a sight for the bowler, not so much for Gill,” Shastri said.
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke also highlighted Gill’s problem. “You always expect pace and swing from Archer. Gill left a huge gap between his bat and pad,” he said in commentary.
The GT captain was sent back for 2 off 3 balls as Archer brought joy to captain Sanju Samson, who decided to bowl after winning the toss in the top-of-the-table clash.
Archer, who started IPL 2025 with the most expensive spell, turned things around quickly. He produced a superb three-wicket haul in RR’s last match against PBKS.
Royals replaced spin all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, who missed out due to personal reasons, with medium pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi.
The home team was unchanged.
The Teams:
Rajasthan Royals XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c/wk), Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande.
Gujarat Titans XI: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma.
