Media365
NEW DELHI:Rajasthan Royals did not get the start they expected from star pacer Jofra Archer as the speedster endured a nightmare first over against Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026. Archer struggled badly with his line and rhythm, ending up bowling an 11-ball over – joining an unwanted list of bowlers who have delivered the longest overs in IPL history.Archer’s over equalled the record for the joint-longest over bowled in the IPL, alongside bowlers like Mohammed Siraj, Tushar Deshpande, Shardul Thakur, Sandeep Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh, all of whom had previously bowled 11-ball overs in the tournament.
Longest overs bowled in IPL history (in balls)
| Balls | Bowler | Opposition | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Mohammed Siraj | Mumbai Indians | Bengaluru | 2023 |
| 11 | Tushar Deshpande | Lucknow Super Giants | Chennai | 2023 |
| 11 | Shardul Thakur | Kolkata Knight Riders | Kolkata | 2025 |
| 11 | Sandeep Sharma | Delhi Capitals | Delhi | 2025 |
| 11 | Hardik Pandya | Gujarat Titans | Wankhede | 2025 |
| 11 | Arshdeep Singh | Gujarat Titans | Mullanpur | 2026 |
| 11 | Jofra Archer | Gujarat Titans | Jaipur | 2026* |
Archer conceded 18 runs in the opening over and looked far from his best. Here’s how the dramatic over unfolded ball by ball:Ball 0.1: Archer started with a short and wide delivery outside off stump and Sai Sudharsan immediately punished it, slashing the ball over point for a boundary to get off the mark in style.Ball 0.2: Archer bowled a wide outside off. The delivery shaped away sharply and Sai Sudharsan threw his bat at it but failed to connect.Ball 0.2 (legal delivery): Archer then delivered a short-of-length ball outside off which moved away from the batter. Sai Sudharsan guided it towards backward point but could not score.Ball 0.3: Things got worse for Archer as he overstepped by a huge margin and bowled a no-ball. Sai Sudharsan steered the back-of-length delivery towards backward point, where sloppy fielding allowed a single. Gujarat Titans also earned a free hit.Ball 0.3 (free hit): Archer sprayed the ball far down the leg side. Shubman Gill missed the flick and the ball raced away to the boundary for five wides.Ball 0.3 again: Archer followed it up with another wide down the leg side as he continued to struggle with control.Ball 0.3 again: Yet another wide followed, making it three consecutive wides. The free hit continued while the Rajasthan Royals dugout looked tense.Ball 0.3 (legal delivery): Archer finally got one right with a yorker outside off. Gill tried to squeeze it out but missed completely.Ball 0.4: Archer bowled on middle and leg and Gill flicked it through square leg for a single.Ball 0.5: Sai Sudharsan survived a leading edge while trying to flick across the line. The ball safely cleared the cover fielder and the batters completed two runs. The third umpire briefly checked for another no-ball, but Archer’s back foot was marginally behind the line.Ball 0.6: Archer ended the over with another misfield behind the stumps. Sai Sudharsan punched a length delivery towards cover for a single, but an overthrow at the keeper’s end allowed Gujarat Titans to finish with 18 runs from the over. Rajasthan Royals stand-in skipper Yashasvi Jaiswal won the toss and elected to bowl against Gujarat Titans. Jaiswal was leading Rajasthan Royals after regular skipper Riyan Parag pulled his hamstring in RR’s previous match.GT made one change, bringing in Prasidh Krishna in place of Manav Suthar while RR brought in Shimron Hetmyer and Yash Raj Punja.Teams:Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja.Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj.
