Bengaluru defeated Gujarat and made it to the IPL final (Photo-PTI)
RCB in IPL 2026 Final: Royal Challengers Bangalore performed brilliantly in the first qualifier of IPL 2026 and made it to the finals of the tournament. Bengaluru defeated Gujarat Titans by 92 runs at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. Batting first, Bengaluru scored 254 runs in 20 overs. In reply, Gujarat Titans’ batting proved to be a complete failure and they were reduced to 162 runs. With this he lost his first chance to reach the finals. Royal Challengers Bangalore team has reached the final for the second consecutive time and for the fifth time in IPL history. Now this team has a big chance to save its title. Last season, RCB had achieved the honor of becoming IPL champion for the first time by defeating Punjab.
Batsmen laid the foundation of RCB’s victory
Royal Challengers Bangalore The script of victory was written by its batsmen. Virat Kohli gave a good start to the team by scoring 43 runs in 25 balls but captain Rajat Patidar, who came in the middle order, made the entire match one-sided. This right-handed batsman scored unbeaten 93 runs in just 33 balls. This player hit 9 sixes and 5 fours in his innings. Patidar’s strike rate was more than 281. Apart from Patidar, Krunal Pandya also played an inning of 43 runs, on the basis of which Bengaluru’s score reached 254 runs.
Gujarat’s batting stacked like cards
Gujarat’s batting completely collapsed in front of the target of 255 runs. Sai Sudarshan was hit wicket for 14 runs and captain Shubman Gill was bowled for just 2 runs. Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler scored 29 runs in 11 balls. Nishant Sindhu was out after scoring 5 runs, Washington Sundar after scoring 8 runs. Jason Holder could not even open an account. Rahul Tewatia somehow managed Gujarat by scoring a half-century but in the end the team lost badly. In the qualifiers, RCB fast bowler Jacob Duffy took the maximum of 3 wickets. Rasikh Salam Dar took 2 wickets in his name. Bhuvneshwar Kumar also got 2 wickets.
The biggest reason for Gujarat’s defeat
Gujarat did bad in both bowling and batting but the biggest reason for its defeat was poor fielding. Gujarat Titans gave 2 lives to Rajat Patidar in 3 balls along with a misfield. In the 14th over, Rajat Patidar missed the catch on the first ball of Prasidh Krishna, at that time he was on just 18 runs. Rajat Patidar again got a lease of life on the third ball of the same over, this time Kagiso Rabada took an easy catch. Patidar took advantage of these two opportunities and played stormy innings to take his team to the IPL final.
Gujarat still has a chance
However, Gujarat still has a chance to reach the final of IPL 2026. Gujarat Titans will also get a chance to play the second qualifier. This match will be played against the winning team of the eliminator match to be held between Hyderabad and Rajasthan on May 29 in New Chandigarh. The match between Rajasthan and Hyderabad will be played on 27th May at 7.30 pm at New Chandigarh Stadium.
