RCB vanquish GT to book second consecutive IPL final berth

An incredible run from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru saw them hammer the Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 to secure a berth in the IPL 2026 final.

A superlative all-round performance from Rajat Patidar and company was more than enough for RCB to sail through.

Winning the toss, Gujarat Titans opted to bowl first. RCB had one change from the side in the last game that played Sunrisers Hyderabad as Jacob Duffy came in place of Romario Shepherd.

Venkatesh Iyer got off to a rollicking start as RCB hit the pedal from the word go. He smacked 19 off just seven balls, clobbering three fours and a six before Kagiso Rabada could get the better of him. Despite the fall of Iyer, RCB looked unfazed as an incoming Devdutt Padikkal carried forth the momentum in the exact same vein, pushing back the GT invasion.

The duo of Virat Kohli (43) and Devdutt Padikkal (30) added 72 runs for the second wicket from just 38 balls. Both the batters struck at a tempestuous scoring rate and the intent was loud and clear. Just when it felt like that the duo could go on and on, a crucial ninth over from Jason Holder changed the dynamics of the game completely.

Holder dealt a double whammy to remove Kohli and DDP in the same over, reducing RCB to 94/3. That over saw the scoring rate for the Royal Challengers drop to a certain extent as Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya took a while to steady the ship. However, despite the scoring rate going down, it never really dived below 10 an over, underlining the consistent dominance for RCB.

The entire equation flipped when Kulwant Khejroliya came in for his second over. After conceding just three runs in the first over, he certainly was the frontrunner for getting another crucial over at a juncture where RCB didn’t really look like they were firing on all cylinders. However, the growing partnership between Patidar and Pandya had other plans.

Khejroliya’s second over went for a staggering 28 runs, signalling the beginning of a humdinger turnaround of affairs. The duo added 95 runs for the fourth wicket just 45 balls before Kagiso Rabada could apply the brakes. But by then Patidar has entered his killer mode already and he was in no mood to stop.

Patidar completed his half-century in just 21 balls, whacking Kagiso Rabada for a maximum over deep mid-wicket. Despite the early departure of Tim David (4), Patidar’s onslaught combined with Jitesh Sharma’s late charge saw RCB tot up the highest-ever total in the history of IPL play-offs. They had 254 in their bank as their captain stayed unbeaten for an incredible 33-ball-93, smashing five fours and nine sixes.

It went without saying that the Gujarat Titans needed a surging start if they were to match RCB’s formidable score. They did get a couple of boundaries in the first two balls of the innings but the momentum would soon suffer a massive jolt. Sai Sudharsan (14) clipped his own timbre against Jacob Duffy, leaving GT in a spot of bother.

To make matters worse for GT, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s sensational spree continued as he breached the defences of Shubman Gill (2) in the very next over. Jos Buttler offered a certain degree of resistance with an 11-ball-29 but hardly without any support from the other end, his effort to double up the scoring rate failed in its tracks with Josh Hazlewood’s delivery kissing timbre.

Rasikh Salam Dar had a dream start to the play-off with a double-wicket maiden. The very first ball that he bowled to Nishant Sindhu came back to him and he made no mistake in gobbling that up. The same over saw Jason Holder (0) hole out to Josh Hazlewood as GT’s wobble simply accentuated.

It only went from bad to worse for the Titans as they kept on losing wickets. Washington Sundar (8), Rashid Khan (8) and Kagiso Rabada (9) fell in quick succession to leave the Titans wobbling at 88/8. Rahul Tewatia (68) came in with a late show of resistance but it was far from being enough. RCB bundled out GT for 162, securing a staggering 92-run victory.

Jacob Duffy was the pick of the lot with figures of 3/39 while he had decent support Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam Dar and Krunal Pandya as the trio chipped in with two wickets apiece. Rajat Patidar bagged the Player of the Match award for his sensational knock with the bat. RCB will have four days to rest and prepare before they take the centerstage for the grand finale.