Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar slammed Rajasthan Royals’ management for poor decision-making after the team’s seven-wicket loss to Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2026 on Friday. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi once again impressed against GT’s fiery bowling attack, smashing 96 off 47 balls. Riding on his knock, RR posted 214/6 in 20 overs. However, the total proved insufficient as Gujarat Titans chased it down in 18.4 overs to book a place in the final. The chief architect of GT’s victory was skipper Shubman Gill, who produced a brilliant knock of 104 off 53 balls.
During RR’s innings, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was forced to retire hurt but later returned to bat, remaining unbeaten on 45 off 35 balls. Manjrekar criticised the Royals for sending Jadeja back in and also questioned their decision to promote pacer Jofra Archer ahead of Donovan Ferreira.
Notably, Ferreira, who came in at No. 8, played a stunning cameo, remaining unbeaten on 38 off just 11 balls. His innings included four sixes and two boundaries.
“Still can’t get over the poor call by RR to put Jadeja back in after he had retired hurt & then have Jofra Archer come before Donovan Ferreira,” wrote Manjrekar on X (formerly Twitter).
Still can’t get over the poor call by RR to put Jadeja back in after he had retired hurt & then have Joffra Archer come before Donovan Ferreira.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) May 30, 2026
After the match, RR skipper Riyan Parag felt his team posted a competitive total against GT, describing the score as defendable.
“It was a par score; it was defendable. I felt that after the heavy roller, it got better in the second innings. In the first innings, the bowlers got some grip, and the slower ones did well. I thought 230 would have been a par score. A score around 240 would have been challenging, but we needed the openers early. It didn’t happen, which became tough for us,” Parag said after the match.
“To sum it up in one sentence, there were many positives. We weren’t supposed to qualify, given that many players were young and inexperienced, but many youngsters performed well and can only improve from here,” he added.
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