IPL 2025: 3 heroes and 3 zeroes from the GT vs RR contest

In match number 23 of the Indian Premier League 2025 season, Gujarat Titans (GT) crushed Rajasthan Royals (RR) by a massive margin of 58 runs. The match took place at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The in-form Sai Sudharsan smashed a solid 82. And then, Prasidh Krishna’s brilliant bowling of 3/24 helped GT clinch the win. This was GT’s fourth consecutive win in IPL 2025, taking them to the top of the points table.

GT scored 217/6 from 20 overs. Besides Sudharsan’s knock, Jos Buttler, Shahrukh Khan, and Rahul Tewatia impressed for the hosts with key contributions. GT saw RR bowl 17 wides which was poor from the visitors on a good batting deck.

In response, RR saw Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer score 41 and 52 runs respectively. Riyan Parag entertained with a 26-run effort. RR could only manage to score 159 runs before being bowled out in the 19th over. This strong bowling display by the GT bowlers helped them secure a win.

Here are three heroes and three zeroes from the GT vs RR contest in Ahmedabad.

Heroes

Sai Sudharsan: The GT opener continued his majestic form in IPL 2025. He slammed his 3rd fifty of the season and is currently the 2nd-highest scorer after Nicholas Pooran. He owns 273 runs at 54-plus average this season. Sudharsan’s 82 versus RR had 8 fours and three sixes. He shared two valuable stands alongside Buttler and Shahrukh Khan to help GT maintain a healthy scoring rate. Sudharsan now owns 1307 runs in the IPL at 48.40 from 30 matches. He smashed his 9th fifty (100s: 1). His strike rate is 141.60. As per ESPNcricinfo, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Sudharsan has raced to a tally of 822 runs from 15 matches at 58.71 (SR: 156.27). This was his 7th fifty-plus score in Ahmedabad (50s: 6, 100s: 1).

Prasidh Krishna: RR pacer Prasidh is enjoying himself in IPL 2025. After a rough start versus PBKS, Prasidh has been on the money. His figures in the last three games before the clash against RR read 2/18, 1/26, and 2/25. And now, he took 3/24. Despite starting on a poor note versus RR, where he gave away 12 runs off his 1st over, the pacer made a sound return. He bowled the 13th over and picked the scalp of RR skipper Sanju Samson, ending a 48-run stand for the 5th wicket. He conceded 4 runs in that over. In his 3rd over, he conceded six runs and got two wickets, which included half-centurion Hetmyer. He gave away 2 runs in his final over. He bowled 12 dot balls and was hit for two fours and a six in this match. Notably, he has 8 scalps this season at just 16.75.

Shimron Hetmyer: The West Indian batter fills into this group despite his side’s loss. It was a sound effort from the southpaw, who fought hard with a knock of 52 from just 32 balls. Till the time he was there, RR had an outside chance of making this a contest. Hetmyer’s knock of 52 from 32 balls had 4 fours and three sixes (SR: 162.50). He completed a 29-ball fifty before Prasidh dismissed him in the 16th over. Hetmyer owns 1383 runs from 77 IPL matches (71 innings). He averages over 30, with his strike rate being 153-plus. This was his 5th IPL fifty. His last IPL fifty came in the 2023 season against GT. In IPL 2025, Hetmyer has amassed 140 runs at 28. He also surpassed 5,000 T20 runs in this contest. Playing in his 261st T20 encounter (239 innings), he has now raced to 5045 runs at 26.41. He has a ton and 25 half-centuries.

Zeroes

Shubham Dubey: RR sent Shubham Dubey as an ‘Impact Sub’. He came to bat when RR were 116/5 in the 13th over. However, his stay at the crease was short-lived. He perished for just 1 run off three balls. He failed to make any sort of impact for the side, with RR being 119/6 with his wicket. Spinner Rashid Khan ended his stay, trapping him LBW in the 14th over. A fuller delivery by the Afghan wrist-spinner was a googly that skidded off the surface and struck Dubey on the front pad. Dubey failed to read Rashid and was sent back cheaply. It was a 2nd successive failure for Dubey this season, and this is hurting RR, who do not have the desired bench strength. Perhaps giving a chance to 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi next would be a wise move. In three matches, Dubey owns 44 runs. He scored 34* in RR’s opener. 

Tushar Deshpande: Despite his two wickets in this contest, Deshpande conceded runs aplenty. He gave away 53 runs from his 4 overs. He bowled 7 dots and conceded 4 fours and three sixes. He bowled 7 wides, and his economy rate read 13.25. He was introduced in the 5th over of GT’s innings, and he started by conceding 22 runs. After a decent 2nd over, he was amongst the runs in his final two. He did manage to get two wickets, dismissing Sudharsan and Rashid Khan in the 19th over of the contest. Deshpande needs to curb conceding runs. His economy rate of 11.46 in IPL 2025 provides depth to this analysis. 

Yashasvi Jaiswal: This was a poor effort from Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored a paltry 6 runs from 7 balls. Mohammed Siraj beat him on three occasions in the 1st over, which had nine balls, including three wides. In the 2nd over, Jaiswal fell to Arshad Khan. It was a fuller ball outside off stump as Jaiswal leaned forward and looked to square drive. However, he ended up slicing it straight to deep backward point. Jaiswal tried to use the away swing but didn’t get to the direction of where he wanted to. If he would have left that ball, a wide would have happened. It was a rash shot and RR paid the price in a stiff run-chase.

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