Rajasthan Royals player Ravi Bishnoi, second from left, celebrates with teammates (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra heaped praise on Ravi Bishnoi for his crucial overs in Rajasthan Royals’ narrow six-run win over Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026. He also pointed out that the leg-spinner was undervalued at the auction and deserved a much higher price.Chasing 211 at Ahmedabad on April 4, Gujarat were undone largely due to Bishnoi’s influence with the ball. The wrist-spinner returned figures of 4/41 from his four overs, striking at crucial moments to tip the match in Rajasthan’s favour.
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Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra spoke about Bishnoi’s value and performance.“Ravi Bishnoi, we were talking at the time of the auction that it was sold at a very cheap price – seven crore cheap rupees.
He should have gotten 10-11 crores. It was a fantastic seven-crore acquisition. He took four wickets and made the difference in the end because all the important wickets were in his name.”Chopra also gave special praise to Tusshar Deshpande, who performed under pressure in the final to seal the match.“Tusshar Deshpande came into the team and Brijesh Sharma was not there, and what a change in the end because Tusshar Deshpande was standing between winning and losing.
Tusshar Deshpande executed these New Yorkers beautifully. He noted that he “raises the thumbs up with both hands to execute under pressure.”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 Gurriel played a brilliant knock, scoring 75 runs off 42 deliveries to anchor Rajasthan’s innings.
Chopra praised his maturity, especially after his promotion this season.“Before that, Dhruv Gurriel. They had a big call this season to have him bat at number three, and he was absolutely excellent. He batted almost until the end. He scored his maiden Test century on just this ground. A very good guy. I like him to the cut. I get very happy when he does well. Then the two openers. In my opinion, Vaibhav Suryavanshi and
Yashavi Jaiswal
“They are the most exciting openers in this league,” he said.Along with Gurriel, Vaibhav Suryavanshi (31 off 18) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (55 off 36) gave Rajasthan a solid start at the top.Chopra, on the other hand, pointed out the shortcomings of Gujarat’s chase, suggesting that better planning could have changed the outcome.“JT, this match was yours. There are batting issues. Shubman Gill’s injury, of course, didn’t help, but wickets fell at regular intervals. I thought it was a bit of a random chase. You could have won this match if you had built it up a little better,” Chopra observed.
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Which Rajasthan Royals player do you think had the biggest impact in this match?
Despite Sai Sudharsen scoring 73 runs from 44, Gujarat lost momentum after his dismissal. From a strong position of 107/1 in 10.3 overs, the innings collapsed, allowing Rajasthan to complete a dramatic turnaround.