IPL 2026: Tushar Deshpande reveals the story behind his viral winning celebration against GT

Rajasthan Royals’ medium pacer Tushar Deshpande has disclosed that during their match against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on Saturday, April 4, he was originally scheduled to bowl the 19th over rather than the final. The 30-year-old led his team to an improbable victory by protecting 11 runs off the final over in a tense game finale. With the help of his incredible bowling in the final over, RR managed to secure a nail-bitting 6 run victory against the GT at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. 

Deshpande stated that he was initially scheduled to bowl the 19th over; however, when Captain Riyan Parag handed the ball to Jofra Archer instead, he felt insulted. It was then that Riyan informed him that he would be bowling the final over.

“To be honest, it just happened in the heat of the moment, where the match stood, and the way we won it from the jaws of defeat. I was not supposed to bowl the last over; I was going to bowl the 19th over, and that hurt me a little. Then Riyan (Parag) told me to bowl the 20th over, so it was that aggression to bowl that ultimate over, and we won the game.”

Tushar Deshpande's celebration, following his match-winning performance for the Rajasthan Royals, garnered significant attention. However, Tushar revealed that he was completely unaware that his celebration was a replica of the one Rashid Khan had performed after defeating RR during IPL 2024.

In the match context, Rajasthan Royals scored 210/6 after batting first. Dhruv Jurel scored 75 runs, while Yashasvi Jaiswal amassed 55 runs. Apart from them, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, once again, dismantled the opposition bowling attack in the initial overs, scoring 31 off 18. In response, GT could manage to reach only 204 runs. For GT, Sai Sudharsan was the top scorer, with 73 runs. In the final over of the match, GT needed 11 runs, but the seamer gave away just four runs, including bowling three dot balls.

Now, Tushar Deshpande wants to make his comeback for the Indian team. He has played two T20Is for the national team in 2024, claiming 2 wickets. The Indian team is set to scheduled to play a lot of T20I series after the IPL, and Tushar will definitely want to be a part of that squad. 

With this victory, the Rajasthan Royals are currently in second position in the points table, claiming 4 points. On the other hand, this was the second straight defeat of the Gujarat Titans in the ongoing IPL season. They are still waiting for their first victory.