Jofra Archer (Image credit: BCCI/IPL)
New Delhi: Rajasthan Royals did not get the start they expected from superstar Jofra Archer as the pacer endured a nightmare start against Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026. Archer struggled badly with his line and pace, and ended up bowling 11 balls – joining an unwanted list of bowlers with the longest overs in IPL history.Archer equaled the record for the longest combined throw in the IPL, along with bowlers like Mohammed Siraj, Tusshar Deshpande, Shardul Thakur, Sandeep Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh, all of whom had previously bowled 11 balls in the tournament.
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Longest throw in IPL history (balls)
| Balls | Archer | opposition | place | year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Muhammad Siraj | Mumbai Indians | Bengaluru | 2023 |
| 11 | Tusshar Deshpande | Lucknow Super Giants | Chennai | 2023 |
| 11 | Shardul Thakur | Kolkata Knight Riders | Kolkata | 2025 |
| 11 | Sandeep Sharma | delhi capitals | Delhi | 2025 |
| 11 | Hardik Pandya | Gujarat Titans | Wankhedi | 2025 |
| 11 | Arshdeep Singh | Gujarat Titans | Mullanpur | 2026 |
| 11 | Jofra Archer | Gujarat Titans | Jaipur | 2026* |
Archer conceded 18 points in the opener and looked far from his best. Here’s the dramatic way the ball rolls after the ball:Ball 0.1: Archer started with a short, wide delivery outside the off-stump and Sai Sudharsen punished him immediately, cutting the ball over point to cross the boundary in style.Ball 0.2: Archer throws away from outside. The delivery was made sharp and Sai Sudharsen threw his bat at it but failed to connect.Ball 0.2 (legal delivery): Archer then delivered a short length ball outside off which went away from the bat. Sai Sudharsen directed it towards the backward point but was unable to score.Ball 0.3: Things got worse for Archer when he went over by a long lead and bowled a no-ball. Sai Sudharsan steered a back-length delivery towards backward point, where sloppy play allowed a single.
Gujarat Titans also got a free hit.Ball 0.3 (free kick): Archer sprayed the ball away down the leg side. Shubman Gill missed the flick and the ball flew wide to the boundary for five wide.Ball 0.3 back: Archer followed with another wide leg kick as he continued to struggle for control.Ball 0.3 back: This was followed by another wide showing, making it three straight wides. The free kick continued as the Rajasthan Royals dugout looked tense.Ball 0.3 (legal delivery): Archer finally gets one right with a Yorker outside. Jill tried to pressure him but completely missed.Ball 0.4: Archer bowls on middle and leg and Gill sweeps it through square leg for a single.Ball 0.5: Sai Sudharsan escaped the lead as he attempted to tap across the line. The ball cleared the cover fielder safely and the batters completed two runs. The third umpire briefly checked for another ball, but Archer’s back foot was slightly behind the line.Ball 0.6: Archer rounded off the end with another miss behind the stumps. Sai Sudharsan curled a long pass towards cover for one, but an overthrow at the keeper’s end allowed Gujarat Titans to finish 18 runs behind. Rajasthan Royals stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal won the toss and elected to play against Gujarat Titans. Jaiswal was captaining Rajasthan Royals after regular skipper Riyan Parag suffered a hamstring injury in RR’s previous match.GT made one change, bringing in Prasidh Krishna in place of Manav Suthar while RR brought in Shimron Hetmyer and Yash Raj Punja.the difference:Rajasthan Royals: Yashavi Jaiswal (c), Dhruv Gurriel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Tusshar Deshpande, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Poonja.Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudarsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj.