Mohammed Siraj strikes early as Nitish Rana holes out to deep third man in GT vs RR IPL 2025 clash [Watch]

Mohammed Siraj continued his excellent form to provide a promising start to the Gujarat Titans (GT) with the ball. It came in their IPL 2025 match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, April 9. He caused Nitish Rana to hole out to deep third man, perishing for just one run off three balls to hurt the Royals’ chances in the chase.

The dismissal came in the third over of RR’s innings. Siraj bowled a short delivery, and Rana tried to guide it over the third man region but was cramped for room. All he did was find Kulwant Khejroliya, who completed an easy catch down his throat. Following the dismissal, Siraj sported a big smile as he celebrated with his teammates.

Watch the video below:

This was Nitish Rana’s fourth failure in five outings. The 31-year-old has managed scores of 11, 8, 81 (vs Chennai Super Kings), 12, and 1. The Royals had splurged INR 4.2 crore to buy him at the IPL 2025 mega auction.

On the other hand, Mohammed Siraj has been in superb form with figures of 4/17, 3/19, and 2/34 in his last three games. With Rana’s wicket, he has become the leading wicket-taker in the IPL this season. The Ahmedabad-based franchise had bought Siraj for a whopping INR 12.25 crore at the mega auction.

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Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag steady RR after early wickets against GT in the IPL 2025 match

RR captain Sanju Samson and vice-captain Riyan Parag have steadied the team in their 218-run chase after losing two early wickets against GT in the IPL 2025 match.

At the time of writing, the Royals were 57/2 after six overs, with Samson and Parag at the crease.

Asked to bat first, GT posted 217/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Sai Sudharsan top-scored with 82 runs off 53 balls, in a knock laced with three sixes and eight boundaries. Jos Buttler, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, and Rashid Khan chipped in with 36 (25), 36 (20), 24* (12), and 12 (4), respectively.

Tushar Deshpande and Maheesh Theekshana emerged as the leading wicket-takers for RR, returning with two wickets apiece. Sandeep Sharma and Jofra Archer also bagged one wicket each.

Follow the GT vs RR IPL 2025 live score and updates here.