RCB qualified for back-to-back finals.
In a battle of the top two IPL 2026 teams, the table toppers and defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, have emerged as the winners to seal a direct spot in the summit clash. They thoroughly dominated the RCB vs GT encounter to defeat the Gujarat Titans by a huge margin of 92 runs. Let’s look at 3 key takeaways from the RCB vs GT IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 match.
Dharamshala witnessed a complete run-fest from the RCB batters in the IPL 2026 Qualifier 1. After being put to bat first, the reigning champions continued their red-hot form with the bat. Both their openers, Venkatesh Iyer (19) and Virat Kohli (43), provided the team a fierce start. In the middle overs, captain Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya (43) maintained the high scoring rate as GT also conceded a few easy runs with their sloppy fielding.
Eventually, 40 runs from the last two overs propelled the Bengaluru outfit to a mammoth 254/5, which is the highest total in the IPL playoffs so far.
Skipper Rajat Patidar starred with an unbeaten 93 and ensured that the RCB bowlers had a huge total to defend in Dharamshala. His blazing innings came at a fiery strike rate of 281.81, comprising five boundaries and nine maximums. Alongside him, wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma also played a perfect five-ball 15* cameo to fuel them towards the massive 250-plus target.
ALSO READ:
While chasing the massive total, Sai Sudharsan (14) had provided a brisk start, smashing three quick boundaries. But after his unfortunate hit-wicket dismissal in the third over, the entire GT line-up crumbled under pressure. No other batter except for Jos Buttler (29) and Rahul Tewatia could cross the double digits, as Jacob Duffy spearheaded Bengaluru’s pace attack with his second three-wicket haul.
Despite the regular fall of wickets at the other end, Tewatia starred with a counter-attacking fifty-plus knock, helping the franchise reduce their margin of defeat. The batter returned with his highest IPL score of 68, laced with eight fours and four over-boundaries.
However, the 2022 champions will have another chance to advance to the IPL 2026 final. They will next face the winner of tomorrow’s Eliminator clash between the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 2 on May 29.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
