- RCB beat GT by 92 runs to book their place in the IPL 2026 final.
- Captain Patidar scored an incredible 93* as RCB set GT a target of 255.
- RCB pacers took 5 wickets in the powerplay as they reduced GT to 162 all out.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru stormed into the IPL 2026 final, thanks to a whirlwind knock from captain Rajat Patidar. RCB beat GT by 92 runs in Qualifier 1, with the Bengaluru pace attack accounting for eight of the 10 GT wickets to fall.
RCB scored 114 runs in the final six overs to take their total to 254-5 in 20 overs. With the Royal Challengers’ new-ball bowlers striking early, GT’s challenge crashed before it could even take off.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 254-5 (Patidar 93*, Kohli 43, Holder 2-39) beat Gujarat Titans 162 (Tewatia 68, Buttler 29, Duffy 3-39) by 92 runs. View the full scorecard here.
Patidar fireworks light up Dharamshala sky as RCB beat GT by 92 runs
The RCB top order got off to the best possible start after being put in to bat by GT captain Shubman Gill. 76-1 in the powerplay with the top 3 all doing their bit. They looked set for a whole lot more till Jason Holder dismissed both Virat Kohli (43) and Devdutt Padikkal (30) in the same over.
This brought Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya out to the middle. The duo then steadied the ship, taking Bengaluru to 140-3 in 14 overs. And then all hell broke loose. Kulwant Khejroliya, playing just his second IPL match in two years, had looked good in his first over, going for just four runs. The second one would be different though.
Having conceded just two runs off the first two balls, Khejroliya’s third successive yorker attempt resulted in a waist-high no ball that Pandya guided past backward point for four. The resulting free hit went for four after Sindhu failed to stop an easy ball out in the deep. Patidar then entered the party, hitting a six and two fours to see out the over. 28 came off it.
This forced Gill to bring back his biggest weapon. Rashid Khan. That didn’t really change much, however. Khan’s return to the attack showed why Gill had been hesitant to bowl him so far in this partnership. Three sixes and three singles later, RCB were at 189-3 in 16 overs.
While Kagiso Rabada got Pandya (43) with his first ball back, Patidar continued on his merry ways. RCB scored 65 off the remaining four overs as their captain meted out punishment to Rabada, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. Jitesh Sharma’s cameo at the end (15 off 5 balls) then helped RCB to 254-5 in their 20 overs. The highest score by any team in an IPL playoff match.
RCB destroy GT top-order, kill game in the powerplay
Chasing a mammoth total, Sai Sudharsan set GT on their way, carving Jacob Duffy for boundaries off his first two balls. It looked like the stylish left-hander was starting to get going, he managed to get out to one of the strangest dismissals this season. Having cut Duffy towards the point boundary, the bat slipped out of his hands. The bat would bounce off the ground and then strike the stumps. The stumps lit up, a bail fell, and Sudharsan was out hit wicket for 14.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar would then get one through an advancing Gill. Clean bowled for 2. Josh Hazlewood was hit for a few before he found Jos Buttler’s off stump (29). Rasikh Dar’s double wicket maiden saw out the powerplay, with GT tottering at 51-5.
As wickets continued to fall at one end, Rahul Tewatia stood his ground at the other. While it took Tewatia some time to find some rhythm, he did then take the attack to the RCB bowlers. Too little, too late. Tewatia hit a well-made 68 before Bhuvneshwar Kumar had him pick out Patidar, who could do no wrong, at cover. Kumar thus took back the Purple Cap from Rabada, who had taken it from the former earlier in the day.
The 68-run partnership between Tewatia and Siraj was GT’s best on the day. Siraj soon followed Tewatia, however, with David taking an excellent running catch off Pandya’s bowling. That was that. RCB beat GT by 92 runs to book their place in their second consecutive, and fifth overall, final.
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