IPL Dispatch: Gujarat Titans Zoom Ahead In Playoffs Race; Axar Patel Latest To Be Fined

When Gujarat Titans (GT) had lost four of their first seven games, questions were being asked of their top-heavy batting order and overall team combination. These very elements are now being lauded, as the Shubman Gill-side has notched up five straight wins to go top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 pile on Tuesday (May 12).

ALSO READ: GT Vs SRH Highlights

It's all coming together beautifully for the Titans, be it their all-star new-ball attack of Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj, or their top three comprising Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler. If the conditions offer something to the bowlers — spinners or pacers — there's no team currently better suited to exploit them.

The Ahmedabad thrashing of SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) was the ideal instantiation of that, as the fearsome line-up including Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen was shot out for a lowly 86 runs in 14.5 overs.

It was Gujarat's biggest win of the season and Hyderabad's biggest loss (by runs), and put GT on the precipice of their fourth playoffs entry in five seasons since inception.

Titans Turn Out In Lavender

Gujarat once again stepped onto the field in their special lavender kit on Tuesday. The kit is part of Titans’ effort to spread awareness about cancer and encourage conversations around early detection and treatment. The initiative began in IPL 2023 and has continued every season since then. Lavender is globally recognised as a colour representing support for people affected by all forms of cancer.

The franchise has used the IPL platform to highlight the importance of awareness and emotional support for patients and their families. GT also involve supporters in the campaign by distributing lavender flags and themed merchandise around the stadium to create a unified atmosphere during the designated home fixtures.

Photo Of The Day

After a prolific IPL 2025 where he finished as the highest run-getter (759 runs at a strike rate of 156.17), Sai Sudharsan is scoring runs for fun again in the 2026 edition. The southpaw became the first to breach the 500-run aggregate mark with a 44-ball 61, his sixth half-century of the season. The Tamil Nadu batter is not only an Orange Cap contender but also a potential harbinger of GT's title march.

Will PM Modi's Austerity Call Affect IPL?

The moment Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech calling for national austerity went live, worries surfaced about whether IPL would be the first, and biggest, casualty. And it certainly wouldn’t be without precedent.

IPL’s less-glamorous cousin, the Pakistan Super League, was played in just two locations, and behind closed doors as our neighbouring nation struggled with rising fuel costs. This ban on fan entry was lifted only during the playoff phase by the Shehbaz Sharif government.

As per a report by the New Indian Express, a single evening IPL game consumes between 2,500 and 3,000 litres of diesel, which amounts to around INR 2.5 lakh. Across a 74-match season, the diesel consumption pushes well past 200,000 litres just to keep the lights on and the cameras rolling.

There are several financial and accommodation costs too, yet it is highly unlikely that Modi's call will lead to an IPL 2026 scale-down. The league is simply too vital to the Indian economy, generating jobs and millions of rupees for the hospitality, aviation, and entertainment industries.

Axar Patel Fined - Here's Why

Adding to the swelling list of Code of Conduct breaches in the ongoing edition, Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Axar Patel was fined INR 12 lakh after his team maintained a slow over rate in their win against Punjab Kings (PBKS). "As this was his team’s first offence of the season under Article 2.22 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct, which pertains to minimum over-rate offences, Axar Patel was fined INR 12 lakhs," said an IPL media advisory.

Axar and David Miller had hit counter-attacking fifties to help DC defeat PBKS by three wickets and keep their slim playoff chances alive. Currently seventh in the standings (10 points), the Capitals next take on Rajasthan Royals at home on Sunday (May 17).

Next Up...

Eight teams remain in contention for the four playoff berths, and sides placed at different ends of that spectrum — Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) — face off next in Raipur on Wednesday. For the eighth-placed KKR (nine points from 10 games), it effectively is another do-or-die game, though with four wins in a row, Ajinkya Rahane's men would have far more belief now than they did a month ago.

For Bengaluru, sitting second with 14 points from 11 matches, the focus would be on their batters. The RCB batting unit was a pale shadow of its fear-inducing self against Mumbai Indians while chasing a middling 167. They needed a determined fifty from Krunal Pandya and a six in the final over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar to emerge victorious.

IPL 2026 Points Table After Match 56

Quote Of The Day

Rabada returned Player of the Match-winning figures of 3/28 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday, and interestingly cited the SRH bowlers' good work as a marker for his own success at the helpful surface. “They showed how to bowl on it and we tried to follow suit. The wicket got a little more sticky and patience and simplicity worked," the South African seamer said at the post-match presentation.

“100 per cent,” he replied when asked if a Test-match length was the right approach with the ball. Talking about his bowling partnerships with the other pacers, Rabada said understanding the nature of the track becomes pivotal to their success.

“We each have our own natural attributes, and it is about seeing how much you can extract, without looking too far ahead. If your strength is not working out, then you can look at something else,” he added.

Elsewhere...

Bangladesh fast bowler Nahid Rana claimed a fifer as the hosts clinched a comprehensive 104-run victory in the first Test over Pakistan in Mirpur. In a three-over burst after tea, Rana dismissed Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan and Noman Ali in 18 balls, conceding just five runs. The win was Bangladesh's third consecutive one against Pakistan in Tests, after they won the 2024 series by 2-0 margin.

Meanwhile, South African pacer Shabnim Ismail reversed her international retirement as she was named in the country's 15-player squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in the United Kingdom from June 12 to July 5. Aiming to inspire the future generations of women’s cricket in the country, the Proteas squad, captained by Laura Wolvaardt, features the 37-year-old Ismail, who last represented SA in the T20 World Cup final in Cape Town in February 2023.