Kamal Ghorui
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra heaped praise on Ravi Bishnoi for his decisive spell in Rajasthan Royals’ narrow six-run win over Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026. He also remarked that the leg-spinner was undervalued at the auction and deserved a significantly higher price.Chasing 211 in Ahmedabad on April 4, Gujarat were undone largely by Bishnoi’s impact with the ball. The wrist-spinner returned figures of 4/41 from his four overs, striking at key moments to tilt the game in Rajasthan’s favour.Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra reflected on Bishnoi’s value and performance.“Ravi Bishnoi, we were talking at the time of the auction that he was sold very cheaply – seven crores is cheap. He should have got 10-11 crores. He was a brilliant acquisition at seven crores. He picked up four wickets and made the difference in the end because all the important wickets were in his name.”Chopra also reserved special praise for Tushar Deshpande, who delivered under pressure in the final over to seal the game.“Tushar Deshpande came into the team and Brijesh Sharma wasn’t there, and what a change in the end because Tushar Deshpande was standing between a win and a loss. Tushar Deshpande executed those yorkers beautifully. Thumbs up with both hands for executing under pressure,” he observed.Deshpande finished with figures of 1/24 in three overs and held his nerve in the final over, conceding just four runs while dismissing Rashid Khan when Gujarat needed 11 off six balls.Earlier in the innings, Dhruv Jurel played a standout knock, scoring 75 off 42 deliveries to anchor Rajasthan’s innings. Chopra praised his maturity, especially after being promoted up the order this season.“Before that, Dhruv Jurel. They have taken a big call this season to make him bat at No. 3, and he was absolutely stellar. He batted almost till the end. He scored his first Test century at this ground only. Very good guy. I love him to bits. I feel very happy when he does well. Then their two openers. In my opinion, Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the most explosive openers of this league,” he said.Alongside Jurel, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (31 off 18) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (55 off 36) provided Rajasthan with a strong start at the top.On the other hand, Chopra pointed out shortcomings in Gujarat’s chase, suggesting that better planning could have changed the result.“GT, this match was yours. There are problems in batting. Shubman Gill’s injury, of course, didn’t help, but wickets fell at regular intervals. I thought it was a slightly haphazard chase. You could have won this game had you constructed it slightly better,” Chopra observed.
Poll
Which Rajasthan Royals player do you think had the most impact in this match?
Despite a solid 73 off 44 from Sai Sudharsan, Gujarat lost momentum after his dismissal. From a strong position of 107/1 in 10.3 overs, the innings unraveled, allowing Rajasthan to complete a dramatic turnaround.
