GT vs RCB, IPL 2026 Qualifier-1: RCB Clinch Direct Entry Into IPL 2026 Final With 92-Run Victory Over Gujarat Titans

By
Rishabh Satija
Rishabh Satija is a sports writer and analyst known for his detailed cricket coverage and match analysis. He closely follows international and franchise tournaments, delivering tactical...
5 Min Read

GT vs RCB, the first innings began with an explosive start as Rajat Patidar’s 93-run knock and RCB’s batting unit set the highest total ever made in IPL qualifiers or playoffs. The score of 254 was itself a giant score to chase, and after that, the Titans’ batting unit began losing half the team in the power play. Later, it kept falling constantly, and the Royal Challengers sealed their spot in the IPL 2026 finals after winning GT vs RCB with a 92-run margin.

GT vs RCB: RCB Crush Gujarat Titans by 92 Runs to Storm Into IPL 2026 Final

In GT vs RCB, the stakes were high for Gujarat as RCB set a giant total of 254, and it wasn’t going to be easy to reach there. The 1st over began with a great start for the Gujarat Titans as 11 runs came from the very first over of Jacob Duffy, and 2 boundaries in it by Sai Sudharshan. But in the 3rd over’s 3rd ball, Jacob Duffy dismissed Sai Sudharshan on 14(9), but this wicket didn’t take GT’s momentum to score runs, as 14 runs came from the same over.

But as fortune was in favour of RCB from the start, on 3.1 overs, Bhuvneshwar Kumar took the wicket of captain Shubman Gill, who scored 2(7), and this was the biggest breakthrough of the match to take the captain’s wicket. After a few balls, Titans attacked and scored 14 runs off the first 3 balls of the 5th over, but on the 4th ball, Hazlewood dismissed Jos Buttler on 29(11).

The 4th breakthrough for RCB came on 5.1 overs, where Rasikh Salam took the wicket of Nishant Sindhu, who made only 5(3), and in the same over, Rasikh Salam took the wicket of Jason Holder without making any runs 0(3), and this was a half-team breakthrough for the Challengers. In the powerplay, the Gujarat Titans only made 51/5, and Rahul Tewatia 0*(2) and Washington Sundar 0*(1).

After a disastrous performance in GT vs RCB’s powerplay, the middle overs needed a partnership that could revive Gujarat Titans from that. In the 7th and 8th overs, Rahul and Washington took a calm approach and scored only 13 runs combined. In the 9th over, the 6th breakthrough came in the form of Washington Sundar 8(8) on Jacob Duffy’s ball, and Josh Hazlewood took that catch.

Then again, Rahul Tewatia with Rashid Khan took the game calmly and steadily till the 10th over, but due to the rising run rate pressure, Rashid Khan gave up his wicket. He scored 8(9). After the 11th over, Gujarat Titans were at 83/7, and Rahul Tewatia was 7*(14) and Kagiso Rabada 5*(3).

In the 12th over, the 8th breakthrough for RCB came when Kagiso Rabada got out on 9(5) on Krunal Pandya’s delivery. But in the 13th over, a ray of hope came when Tewatia took the charge and hit 2 fours and one six, getting 15 runs from Shepherd’s over, but the run rate was still too high for RCB. And in the 14th over, 14 runs came, but still at that time, GT needed 134 runs from 36 balls. After the 16th over, GT were at 134/8, Rahul Tewatia 48*(31) and Mohammed Siraj 5*(11).

In the death overs, the Gujarat Titans were completely losing the grip on the match as Rahul Tewatia tried his best but couldn’t score that many runs alone, and he also gave up his wicket after scoring 68(43). He was the only one who stood like a wall against RCB’s pace attack, but due to the lack of support from other batters, he couldn’t lead the Titans alone to that score, and at 19.3 overs, the Gujarat Titans got all-out at 162 runs, and RCB won by 92 runs.

Now, Royal Challengers, after winning the GT vs RCB qualifier, get direct entry into the finals of IPL 2026, which will be held on 31st May 2026 from 7:30 PM IST at Narendra Modi Stadium, and the opponent whom RCB will face will be decided on 29th May 2026 after Qualifier-2, and Gujarat Titans will play Qualifier-2 on 29th May 2026. 

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