Jofra Archer started terribly in a crucial Indian Premier League 2026 clash between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans as the pacer had no clue whatsoever in the opening over of the innings.

After RR skipper decided to bowl first, the new ball was handed to Archer as usual, but things went horribly wrong right from the beginning. Bowling to Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill, Archer looked completely out of rhythm as the over turned into one of the most expensive and chaotic starts in IPL history.

Sai Sudharsan starts aggressively as Jofra Archer loses rhythm

The over started with a brilliant shot from Sai Sudharsan. Archer bowled a short delivery outside off and the GT batter climbed onto it beautifully, punching it through the off-side for a boundary over the fielder.

What followed was complete chaos for the RR speedster. There were wides, loose deliveries, four wides and a horrible no-ball as Archer completely lost control with the new ball. His rhythm looked broken and nothing seemed to go according to plan for the England pacer during the over.

Archer equals longest over record in IPL history

With repeated extras and wayward deliveries, Archer eventually joined the unwanted list for bowling the joint-longest over in IPL history.

Longest overs in IPL:

  • Mohammed Siraj vs MI, Bengaluru, 2023 (Over 19) – 11 balls
  • Tushar Deshpande vs LSG, Chennai, 2023 (Over 4) – 11 balls
  • Shardul Thakur vs KKR, Kolkata, 2025 (Over 13) – 11 balls
  • Sandeep Sharma vs DC, Delhi, 2025 (Over 20) – 11 balls
  • Hardik Pandya vs GT, Wankhede, 2025 (Over 8) – 11 balls
  • Arshdeep Singh vs GT, Mullanpur, 2026 (Over 20) – 11 balls
  • Jofra Archer vs GT, Jaipur, 2026 (Over 1) – 11 balls*

After the poor first over from Archer, Gujarat Titans made full use of the momentum in the powerplay. By the end of six overs, GT had raced to a commanding 82 runs without losing a single wicket.

Sai Sudharsan was batting brilliantly on 39 runs off 22 deliveries, while Shubman Gill smashed 32 runs in just 15 balls. It turned out to be a dream start for Gujarat Titans after Archer’s poor opening over completely shifted the momentum in their favour.

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