Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has praised Gujarat Titans fast bowler Kagiso Rabada.
Rabada played a key role in GT’s win over Punjab Kings on 3 May, extending their winning streak to 3 matches.
Rabada, Mohammed Siraj and Jason Holder register third consecutive win for GT
On Sunday, in Ahmedabad, Siraj created a stir by dismissing Priyansh Arya on the very second ball of the match. The fast bowler took another wicket by dismissing Cooper Connolly for a golden duck on the next ball.
Kagiso Rabada increased Punjab’s problems by dismissing Prabhsimran Singh in the sixth over. Rabada converted the last over of the powerplay into a wicket-maiden.
After this, Jason Holder dismissed Nehal Wadhera first on zero and then dismissed Shreyas Iyer and struck twice in quick succession. Punjab faltered at 47/5 before Nehal Wadhera and Marcus Stoinis tried to stage a comeback.
Half-century-scorer Vadhera fell to Rabada towards the end of the innings, with the Proteas finishing with figures of 2/22 from their four overs.
Marco Jansen’s cameo took Punjab to 163 runs and gave the bowlers something to bowl at.
Sai Sudarshan scored a half-century, and GT looked set to chase the total, but Arshdeep Singh led the Punjab bowlers in a spirited fight, collapsing in the middle overs.
Ultimately, Washington Sundar scored an unbeaten 40 to seal the win, helping GT win in the last over.
Also read: Shubman Gill trolled Punjab Kings after GT’s victory, took a jibe at Shreyas Iyer
Ashwin praised Kagiso Rabada fiercely
Ravichandran Ashwin took to his YouTube channel to praise Kagiso Rabada and his bowling effort on the night.
He said, “It feels as if he has been spiritually affected. He is not only bowling fast, but bowling thunderous. Prabhasimran Singh really planted his back foot and went to one side in front of him. Rabada set the pace for GT. The way he bowled to Prabhasimran, the batsman wanted to go away.”
Apart from Rabada, Ashwin also praised GT’s entire bowling attack and the captaincy of Shubman Gill.
Ashwin said about Jason Holder, who was named player of the match, “The ball actually goes into his hands for the catch. Shreyas Iyer has been doing brilliantly in this IPL. Still, Holder troubled him and got him out.”
Ashwin talked about how GT’s in-form and quality bowling line-up has made Shubman Gill’s job as captain easier.
Ashwin said, “You are only as good as your bowlers and the entire team. When you have Siraj, Rabada, Holder and Rashid Khan, you will look good. Bowlers can make a captain wise or foolish. In this attack, the bowlers will always bowl in their own area. That is half the job for a captain.”
“They have a high-quality attack that performs well, which works to their advantage. But they are able to use Rashid Khan well, despite him still not being at his best and bowling too much. Gill still uses him in the end overs and gets away with it,” he concluded.
Kagiso Rabada in IPL 2026
It is not without reason that Ashwin has such great praise for Kagiso Rabada. Rabada is currently GT’s leading wicket-taker in IPL 2026 and is ranked third in the Purple Cap list.
After a poor start to the season, they picked up momentum in the last few matches. Kagiso Rabada now has 16 wickets in 10 matches in this year’s IPL. He leads the way with best figures of 3/25 with an average of 22.5 and an economy of 9.23.
In fact, this is the first time since 2023 that he has touched the 15-wicket mark in an IPL season.
next match of gujarat titans
Fifth-placed GT will face fourth-placed Rajasthan Royals in their next match. Kagiso Rabada will once again be expected to play a central role.
Both the teams have won 6 out of 10 matches, but RR has a much better net run rate. Even before this season, both the teams had clashed once. On that occasion, RR won by 6 runs in a last-over thriller. Kagiso Rabada surprisingly contributed with the bat in that match.
