(RR 214/6) (47 ball 96 Suryavanshi vs GT 219/3 Gill 104* (53)

{Q-F 1 : RCB vs GT at Dharamsala May 26- Tuesday}

{Eliminator : TBA vs SRH at New Chandigarth May 27 - wednesday}

{Q-F # 2 TBA vs TBA on May 29 Friday at New- Chandigarth}

{Sunday May 31 Final

At Ahmedabad at 7.30 pm}

RCB vs GT, Qualifier 1, Indian Premier League 2026 - Commentary🔥💯🖥️💞💋❤️💔🧹🛏️🇮🇳

Match starts at May 26, 14:00 GMT🌲

Match Forecast: IPL - RCB vs GT, Qualifier 💚

There is precious little to separate Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans. Net run rate, in the end, was the only arbiter on the points table. These are the two most successful franchises by win percentage over the last five years, the benchmark sides of a half-decade, both with memories of title triumphs in Ahmedabad. They have split their eight head-to-head meetings evenly, including the two league-stage clashes this season. And yet, curiously, for two teams that have each reached four of the last five playoffs, Tuesday in Dharamsala marks their first-ever post-season encounter.

If Qualifier 1 exists to bring together the season's finest, offering a direct route to the final and spark thoughts of a title win, this RCB vs GT clash fits the brief perfectly. The similarities, though, only throw the differences into sharper relief. RCB are built in the image of the modern T20 powerhouse: batting depth, flexibility and firepower stretching all the way down the order. Even eight wickets down, they can still find solutiions - whether through an Impact Player taking them to a 200 score or a Bhuvneshwar Kumar finding a clutch six in the last over.

Gujarat Titans are constructed along somewhat older, more deliberate lines. Their batting is built around the immense collective weight of three men: Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler. Less spread, perhaps, but no less dangerous. Where Gujarat may hold a slight edge is in the depth of their bowling attack and the ruthlessness with which they have maximised conditions all season. Should Dharamsala offer early movement, Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj will be first to the scent. If it is bounce, Jason Holder and Prasidh Krishna will hammer away at the hard lengths. And if a game has to be decided by spin in the middle overs, Rashid Khan remains what he has always been, one of T20 cricket's most reliable enforcers.

Yet, framing this contest purely as batting versus bowling would be reductive. RCB's attack has been every bit as central to their rise. Bhuvneshwar and Josh Hazlewood have combined control with penetration at the top even if the latter hasn't been at his absolute best since his return from lengthy injury spells over the Australian summer. Krunal Pandya's streetwise skills and T20 nous though gives them a steadying presence through the middle. Which is precisely what makes this the right game to open the playoffs. For all their contrasting methods and philosophies, these are two teams that have arrived together to head to a familiar, happy destination.

When: RCB vs GT, Qualifier 1, IPL 2026, May 26 at 19:30 IST

Where: HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala

What to expect: RCB won the only game here this season by batting first, but that fixture was a day game. Under lights, Dharamsala has been far kinder to chasers, with both Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians comfortably hunting down 200-plus targets. That trend dovetails neatly with this rivalry too - every previous meeting between RCB and GT has been won by the side batting second. As for the weather, the teams will be grateful to escape the searing heat gripping much of North India. Conditions in the hills should be pleasant, although there is a slight chance of rain around 5 PM, more than two hours before the scheduled start.

Head to head: RCB 4-4 GT.

Team Watch:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Injuries/Availability: Jacob Bethell has been ruled out of the playoffs with a finger injury. Phil Salt, who Bethell replaced in the RCB side, has been out for much of the second half of this campaign and will need to prove his match readiness to be selected. "He is fit, he is doing fine. He is under observation with the doctor also. He is doing some drills also. We have not decided our playing 11 yet," said Rajat Patidar on Salt, being non-committal on his inclusion.

Tactics & Matchups: Bhuvneshwar Kumar has outstanding T20 records against Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler. He has dismissed Buttler nine times and Gill five times. He accounted for all of GT's 'big three' in the last faceoff and given how central they've been to GT's hopes, it'll be a key battle to watch out for.

Probable XII: Venkatesh Iyer, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam Dar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma/Jacob Duffy

Gujarat Titans

Injuries/Availability: No fresh injuries reported

Tactics & Matchups:

Gujarat's pace bowlers tested Rajat Patidar with sharp, short balls in the fixture at Ahmedabad, something other teams have since routinely used against the RCB captain. It's a tactic GT are likely to go with given they will have at least two fast bowlers to bowl through the middle overs even after going 3-3 with Rabada and Siraj in the Powerplay

Probable XII: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Nishant Sindhu, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Did you know?

- 🌲The winner of Qualifier 1 has gone on to win the IPL 12 times, including in each of the last eight seasons

- 🌲Virat Kohli averages only 26.40 from 17 playoffs games in the IPL including two half-centuries. He also has a strike-rate of only 121.10 in these games

- ❤️Venkaesh Iyer has a 50+ score in each of his last four playoff matches

- 🌲Since 2023, GT and RCB have been the most successful teams in the IPL, with an identical record of 34 wins and 24 losses

👁️🖥️GT have never played an IPL game at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala since they joined the IPL in 2022.

Also, 👀the loser of Qualifier 1 has a hectic travel schedule. They move from Dharamsala to New Chandigarh to play Qualifier 2 three days later. If they then win Qualifier 2, they have to travel even further from New Chandigarh to Ahmedabad to play the final with only a day's gap in between.👀

👀

🌹These are two of the three best bowling units in the powerplay. GT have taken 30 wickets in that phase at an average of 24.53, and an economy rate of 8.76. RCB are not far behind with 28 wickets at 28.50 and 9.50, respectively.

🌹The head-to-head between these two sides is dead even at 4-4. This is the first time they are facing each other in a playoffs match.

🌹Rashid took 19 wickets in the last two IPLs put together. He has 19 this year already with at least two matches to go.

Pitch and conditions: One of the more evenly-matched strips

Both the night matches in Dharamsala were skewed towards the chasing side. A square with tufty grass, no matter how dry, starts with the ball holding a touch and then settles down as the temperature comes down. Add to it a small outfield and the rarefied air of the hills, and it becomes extremely difficult to defend totals. Remember what Tilak Varma said of batting in the night: set yourselves up for slower balls, and swing "blindly" if it is quick because even half hits and mis-hits fly. The weather is set clear so we will have an outright winner.

What they said:

"You always look at things you could have done better, but over the course of 14 games, I think we have performed really well as a team. It's important now that we start fresh and take it one game at a time." - Devdutt Padikkal

"He [Rashid Khan] wants to contribute to the side where he has been valued as a very, very important player and I think this is what the GT setup is all about. They looked after him when he was not up to his mark because his standards are very high and I think he is giving GT management what you ask him to do." - Vijay Dahiya

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad:

Venkatesh Iyer, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar, Philip Salt, Abhinandan Singh, Swapnil Singh, Jordan Cox, Kanishk Chouhan, Jacob Duffy, Richard Gleeson, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra, Mangesh Yadav, Satvik Deswal

Gujarat Titans Squad:

Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Arshad Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kumar Kushagra, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Shahrukh Khan, Ishant Sharma, Luke Wood, Ashok Sharma, Connor Esterhuizen, Gurnoor Brar, Manav Suthar, Jayant Yadav

Player- MAT -RUNS-

1. (Sai Sudharsan 14- 638)

2. (Shubman Gill 13 -616)

3. (Heinrich Klaasen 14 -606)

4. KL Rahul (14- 593)

5. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (14 -583)

6. Ishan Kishan (14- 569)

7. Abhishek Sharma (14 -563)

8. Mitchell Marsh (13 -563)

9. Virat Kohli -(14- 557)

10. Prabhsimran Singh (14 -510)

Best bowling at the end of League matches ✍️

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

RCB

24 + 2

Kagiso Rabada

GT

24 + 2

Jofra Archer

RR

21

Anshul Kamboj

CSK

21

Rashid Khan

GT

19

Eshan Malinga

SRH

19

Kartik Tyagi

KKR

18

Mohammed Siraj

GT

17

Prince Yadav

LSG

16

Sunil Narine

KKR

15

Sakib Hussain

SRH

15

AM Ghazanfar

MI

15

Jamie Overton

CSK

14

Rasikh Dar

RCB

14

Prasidh Krishna

GT

14

Arshdeep Singh

PBKS

14

Gujarat's successful run chase is 205. Here they need 255 in 120 ball

RCB : 254/5

Royal Challengers Bengaluru1 Inn

254/5(20 overs)

Rajat Patidar

*

93 (33)

Jason Holder

2/39 (4)❤️

Virat Kohli

43 (25)

Pandya 43 🌲

Kagiso Rabada

2/54 (4) (26 wkts same as bhuvi)

Gujarat Titans2 Inn

162/10(19.3 overs)

Rahul Tewatia

68 (43)🌹

Sai s out hit wicket

Jacob Duffy

3/39 (4)💋

Jos Buttler

29 (11)

Krunal Pandya

2/16 (3.3)🌹

RCB know more of dharmshala track won but for 1st 12 overs GT were in the game till they dropped catches. GT's 1st match at Dharamshala

RCB qualified for final

Rajat Patidar MOTM

600 runs + at young age / single seasons

Vaibhav - 15 yrs -61 days -2026

Pant : 20 yrs & 226 days -2018

Jaiswal -21 yrs & 142 days -2023

Sai s. -23 yrs & 215 days -2025

S. Gill 23 yrs & 255 days -2023

🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿

Most 4 & 6 in single IPL season

Buttler : RR- 83-4's & 45-6's = 128 -2022 🌿
Kohli : RCB -83-4's & 38-6's = 121 -2016
Vaibhav RR -55-4's & 65-6's= 120 -2026*
Warner SRH-88-4's & 31-6's = 119-2015
S. Gill : ---GT- 85-4's & 33-6's=118- 2023

💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💞💞💞
Good Luck "Bradman of T20 Format" to beat Buttler ji. Vaibhav need 9 more big shot either 4 or 6) to beat Buttler ji.

Out of 680 suryavanshi scored 610 came with 4 & 6

❤️Sachin open his mouth 1st time : "His foot work 101% great which gave him extra space with-in the crease, its amazing to watch him play"💞

BOSS BABY >
Be brave, you openers give your team >> ticket for Final...... Koz in 2026 RR vs GT won 1 vs GT vs RR won 1 so you also have chance to beat Gujarat.

We are waiting for you at 7.30 pm - 11.15 pm game to-night vs Gujarat.

Head to head 10 matches IPL : GT won 7 / RR 3
THAT WAS PAST...... i not even compare mumbai to others that was past......

Be in present & knock Gujarat out as well.
❤️❤️❤️❤️🌲🌲🌲🌲💞💞💞💞🌿🌿🌿💞💚🌹
2nd Qualifier : May 29 : New Chandigarth
At 7.30 pm

(winner will play RCB at Ahmedabad on May 31st)

RR ride on teen steam against steady GT with final in sight

GT are coming off a big defeat in Qualifier 1 but will fancy their chances against RR in hopes of making it to a home final

Moody: RR vulnerable with bowling quality and depth

Big picture: Two similar teams yet poles apart

On Friday night, when New Chandigarh lights up to host Qualifier 2 of IPL 2026, two teams with a lot of similarities yet poles apart in their philosophy will come face to face for the ticket to the final.

Gujarat Titans (GT), who are coming off a defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Qualifier 1, and Rajasthan Royals (RR), who beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Eliminator, have plenty in common. Both rely heavily on their top three, both have a weak middle order, and both have incisive new-ball pairs. But their approach to the game could not have been more different.

Even in the age of the Impact Player, GT's openers, Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan, prefer a low-risk approach to collect their runs. Their scoring rate in the powerplay this season has been 9.66, which puts them in the bottom half. They are happy with just-above-par totals and back their bowling unit to defend those.

RR, meanwhile, are led by the 15-year-old phenom Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who tries to send every ball over the boundary. Gill and Sai Sudharsan combined have hit 59 sixes this season; Sooryavanshi alone has smashed 65. Even with Yashasvi Jaiswal not at his best, RR's run rate of 11.66 in the first six overs has been the best in the tournament.

GT are really vulnerable when a team posts a well-above-par total batting first. RCB did that in Qualifier 1 with 254 for 5, after which GT had little chance. Another team capable of doing that is RR - they did it against SRH in the Eliminator with 243 for 8. While GT's bowling attack is much stronger than SRH's, if Sooryavanshi gets going, it will not be easy to stop him and RR.

That brings us to the toss. The chasing teams have a 43-27 win-loss record this season (excluding a tie and a washout). However, both playoff games so far have been won by the team batting first. In fact, when it comes to the knockouts, it has been pretty even-stevens across the IPL's 19 seasons: 36-35 in favour of the team batting first.

Therefore, if the coin lands in RR's favour on Friday, they might consider batting first and batting GT out of the game. Moreover, the match will be played on the same pitch where the Eliminator was held. So chasing might not be easy on a worn-out surface with little dew expected.

Form guide

Gujarat Titans LWLWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Rajasthan Royals WWWLL

Key question

What should Rajasthan Royals do if they win the toss?

Since it's a used pitch, GT could consider bringing in a spinner like Manav Suthar or R Sai Kishore for Kulwant Khejroliya, who went for 31 in his two overs in Qualifier 1.

Gujarat Titans (probable): 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Nishant Sindhu, 5 Washington Sundar, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Manav Suthar/R Sai Kishore, 11 Mohammed Siraj, 12 Prasidh Krishna

RR are likely to stick with the winning combination.

Rajasthan Royals (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 3 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 4 Riyan Parag (capt), 5 Donovan Ferreira, 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Nandre Burger, 10 Sushant Mishra, 11 Brijesh Sharma, 12 Yash Raj Punja

Rayudu: GT should always bat first

In the spotlight: Kagiso Rabada and Jofra Archer

Kagiso Rabada and Jofra Archer have been the spearheads for their respective teams, and there is little to separate them. Rabada has 26 wickets from 15 games, Archer 24 from 15. Rabada has an economy rate of 9.48, Archer 9.17. While Rabada has often bowled three overs in the powerplay, RR tend to save Archer for the death as well. While one eye on Friday will be on the opening pairs, another will be on these two fast bowlers and who has a bigger say on the result.

Stats and trivia

❤️Sooryavanshi has hit Rabada for 25 runs off 14 balls and Mohammed Siraj for 38 off 20.
Rabada, however, has a good record against Jaiswal, having dismissed him three times in 27 balls for 27 runs.

Archer has dismissed Gill three times in 30 balls while conceding just 36 runs. But he is yet to dismiss Sai Sudharsan, who has scored 44 off 33 balls (strike rate 133.33) against him.
Jos Buttler has taken Archer for 109 runs off 56 balls (strike rate 194.64) for two dismissals in all T20s.

❤️Rashid Khan has kept Riyan Parag and Ravindra Jadeja quiet. Parag has a strike rate of 90.00 against him and Jadeja only 72.09.

❤️RR have won all four matches they have played in New Chandigarh. GT have one win and two losses from their three games there.

🌹Gill need 1 more 6 for IPL 150 -6's ( He need 5 more 4's for 600 -T20 4's)

🌹100 IPL match for Rabada he need 5 more for 150 IPL wkts

🌹parag need 1 catch for IPL 50 catches & 1 more 50 for 10 IPL -50's

🌹 vaibhav Suryavanshi 11 sixes away from 100 sixes in IPL ( He need 4 more 4's for 500 T20 4's)

Pitch and conditions

New Chandigarh has been a high-scoring venue, with targets of 220 and 223 being chased easily earlier in the season. But a worn-out pitch could change the scene. There is a chance of rain, even a hailstorm, around 1pm but it shouldn't affect the game. Thursday was overcast and saw the pitch covered in the evening because of heavy breeze.

Quotes

"He [Archer] is one of the best, if not the best, in world cricket. When he is bowling 150 clicks, you don't ask him to bowl slow. You don't ask him to do anything, you just remind him if at all he needs any reminding of. Otherwise, he just does his job."

RR captain Riyan Parag on Archer

"Everybody has their way of playing. We have our own style of playing. Even in the first half of the tournament, when we were not doing that great - we were just doing okay - we still stuck to our process. We have trust in our ability; we know what we can do. And that is something which we will try to do tomorrow as well. If we go out there and execute our plans, we can win it."

GT assistant coach Parthiv Patel on his team's style of play

💚

The toss was won by Gill on 1st place but....

coin toss is repeated twice in sports (like cricket) to resolve confusion over a call. If the match referee or opposing captain does not clearly hear the initial call due to crowd noise, or if there is a misunderstanding, the toss is declared void and immediately re-toss which RR won.....they opted batting vs Gujarat

No change in RR side

Sai Kishore in playing xl only 1 change in GT team.

Good toss to loose : Shubham Gill

RR lost Jaiswal & Jurel ( A wkt each Siraj & Rabada)

❤️Rabada took 19 wkts in 1st power play❤️

Jadeja new batsman

21 came in siraj over by Suryavanshi (17) & Jadoo (4). Eid ka maza chala gaya 🖥️

Suryavanshi 10 ball 21*

Okayed Buttler's record broken by Asian Bradman

Most 4 & 6 in single IPL season

Buttler : RR- 83-4's & 45-6's = 128 -2022

Kohli : RCB -83-4's & 38-6's = 121 -2016

❤️Vaibhav RR -63-4's & 72-6's= 135-2026🌿

Warner SRH-88-4's & 31-6's = 119-2015

S. Gill : ---GT- 85-4's & 33-6's=118- 2023