A comprehensive performance from the defending champion, dominating proceedings right from ball one to the final delivery. RCB become just the fourth team after CSK, MI and GT to take part in successive finals in IPL history. 

Its looking good for RCB, in a strong position to repeat its achievement from last season. For GT, it was a night to forget and the team now heads to Qualifier 2 on May 29 where it will face the winner of tomorrow’s Eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals. 

Krunal Pandya to finish things off on what has been an emphatic performance from the defending champion. A dot and a single off the first two balls. Up in the air and Tim David completes a sensational catch running in from long on! And its all over! RCB are in the final! Completely outplayed GT! 

Mohammed Siraj c Tim David b Krunal Pandya 5(13) [4s-1]

Bhuvi to bowl the 19th. And after that long resistance, Tewatia departs! Patidar completes a good catch at covers! 

Rahul Tewatia c Rajat Patidar b Bhuvneshwar Kumar 68(43) [4s-8 6s-4]

Prasidh Krishna is the last batter for GT. Starts with a dot ball. Prasidh carves it behind square for FOUR! The tail of the GT batting lineup has saved the team from an embarassing defeat with some handy knocks it must be said.

Dot ball follows. Knuckle ball from Bhuvneshwar, Prasidh defends, dot ball. Prasidh guides it off his pads to deep square leg for a single. 

Rasikh to bowl the 18th. Starts with a bouncer, too high and wide is given. RCB take the review. Wide call stays. Tewatia hits it on the off side, does not take the single.

Rasikh rolls his arm over, Tewatia times the slog to perfection over long on for SIX! FOUR OVER SHORT THIRD! Tewatia achieves his highest IPL score! Good signs for GT for Qualifier 2.

Hmmm seemingly a moment of frustration from Rasikh after being hit for a four and six, throws the ball back to the stumps after Tewatia hits it to the bowler.

Dot ball and wide outside off. Tewatia takes a single on the leg side.

Four overs to go, can GT bat through the innings? Josh Hazlewood with his fourth and final over. Tewatia pulls the pace off bouncer to deep backward square leg, Tewatia declines the single. 

Tewatia guides the outside off length delivery past short backward point for FOUR! And that’s 50 for Tewatia! Valiant knock that will unfortunately go in vain.

Ouch, short ball hits Tewatia on his ribs. FOUR ON THE LEG SIDE! Tewatia keeps motoring on!

Tewatia goes again, this time finds the fielder at deep fine, takes the single. Siraj defends, dot ball. 

Bhuvneshwar with his third. Starts with a dot ball. Tewatia finds the boundary on the leg side! FOUR RUNS!

Tewatia goes again, SIX THIS TIME! Bhuvneshwar pitches it up, Tewatia drills it to long on, declines the single.

Tewatia takes the single this time. Siraj with a front foot defence, dot ball to finish. 

Krunal with his third. Siraj defends, dot ball. Siraj defends again, dot ball. Krunal bowls it slowly through the air, Siraj knocks it off his pads on the leg side for a single.

Tewatia hits it to long on for a single. Siraj defends again, dot ball. Dot ball to finish. 

Hazlewood with his third. Tewatia defends first ball, dot ball. Middle stump slot delivery from Hazlewood, Tewatia drives it to short covers, dot ball.

Tewatia moves across and nails the ramp shot for FOUR! Ouch! Pacy short delivery hits Tewatia on his ribs, dot ball.

Low full toss and Tewatia sends it over deep square leg for SIX! And now between short third and short backward point for FOUR! Tewatia is having some fun out in the middle. 

Romario Shepherd is into the attack. Tewatia slogs the length ball on one knee on the leg side for FOUR! Tewatia goes again on the leg side, FOUR MORE!

Dot ball follows. Tewatia creams it on the leg side for SIX THIS TIME! Changeb of angle from Shepherd, leg stump half volley, Tewatia knocks it to long on for a single. Siraj defends, dot ball to finish. 

Krunal with his second. Can Rabada and Tewatia prevent GT from the heaviest defeat in terms of runs in the history of the IPL? Rabada smacks the short ball on the leg side for FOUR!

Wide down leg side from Krunal. Eight down now! Rabada holes out to Kohli at long on!

Kagiso Rabada c Virat Kohli b Krunal Pandya 9(5) [4s-2]

Mohammed Siraj is the new batter for GT. Krunal surprises Siraj with a sharp bouncer. Siraj catches the bouncer this time and pulls it fine for FOUR! 

Siraj defends, dot ball. Krunal drifts it to the pads, Siraj nudges it off his pads, dot ball to finish. 

Jacob Duffy with his fourth and final over. Tewatia takes a single on the leg side. Stunning shot from Rashid, swings the length ball cleanly over deep mid wicket for SIX! Its all about damage control from GT here on. Wide outside off from Duffy. And that’s another one gone! Rashid nicks the short ball to the keeper and Duffy has three! 

Rashid Khan c Jitesh Sharma b Jacob Duffy 8(9) [6s-1]

Kagiso Rabada is the new batter for GT. Defends first ball, dot ball. Nice shot from Rabada, helps the short ball on its way past deep backward square leg for FOUR! Pace off from Duffy, Rabada toe edges the ball to deep third for a single. 

Duffy with a short delivery. Washington guides it to Hazlewood at deep third. GT six down. 

Washington Sundar c Hazlewood b Duffy 8 (8b 1x4 0x6)

Rashid Khan is the new batter and Duffy welcomes him with a sharp short delivery. 

And we have one more wicket. Rasikh strikes with his first ball. Forces Nishant to chip one back. He dives low and sharp to complete a superb catch. GT sinking. 

Nishant Sindhu c & b Rasikh Salam 5 (3b 1x4 0x6)

Jason Holder doesn’t last too long. His attempted hoick ends up as a top edge. Easy catch for Hazlewood at mid on. 

Jason Holder c Hazlewood b Rasikh Salam 0 (3b 0x4 0x6)

Double wicket maiden for Rasikh. As dominant a PowerPlay as RCB could have hoped for. 

Now Patidar turns to Josh Hazlewood. Buttler takes him on, thumps him down the ground for a four. Now he goes aerial. Flat bats a length ball over long on for a six. Can he revive GT’s chase? He certainly is showing the intent to do it. Jumps out of the crease and goes inside out. Fizzles one through covers for a four. 

Buttler now makes room. Hazlewood with a double bluff. Slower ball that gripped on. Off stump toppled and that should be it for this game.

Jos Buttler b Hazlewood 29 (11b 4x4 2x6)

Gill goes across the line against Bhuvi. He misses. Bhuvi strikes. GT loses both its openers inside the PowerPlay. The matchup once again lands in Bhuvi’s favour. Sixth time Bhuvi has claimed Gill’s wicket in T20s. 

Shubman Gill b Kumar 2 (7b 0x4 0x6)

Bhuvi continues to probe. He now gets an outside edge from Buttler. But it slips past Jitesh. FOUR!! Nishant Sindhu adds another four with a deft cut shot. 

Sai Sudharsan rises to meet a climbing delivery from Duffy. Smacked flat batted for a four. Width now. Sai Sudharsan slashes it away. Oh wait. As the ball was skipping to the fence, the bat slips off his hand and clips the stumps. HIT WICKET!! Sai Sudharsan has to walk back. 

Sai Sudharsan hit wicket b Duffy 14 (9b 3x4 0x6)

Jos Buttler walks in and makes an immediate impact. A four followed by a flicked-away six. 

Bhuvi into the attack and he starts with a gem. Snakes one past Sai Sudharsan’s outside edge. Gill on strike now. Bhuvi has had the upper hand over Gill so far in this format. 

GILL VS BHUVNESHWAR IN T20s

Innings: 13

Runs: 80 from 75 balls (strike rate - 106.66)

Dismissals: 5 (average - 16.00)

As expected, Bhuvi ties down Gill. Three dot balls to finish the over. 

Jacob Duffy with the ball for RCB. Sai Sudharsan gets the chase underway with a flick off his pads. FOUR!! Another drive. This time on the off side. Another four. Perfect start for GT. Sai Sudharsan with a scratchy single to bring Gill on strike. He gets off the mark with a double after two dot balls. 

GT 11/0 in in 1 over

Absolutely sensational innings from RCB captain Rajat Patidar, 93 off 33 balls to take RCB to a mammoth 254/5 from its 20 overs. Just wow.

And for GT, overhauling this massive target, in Qualifier 1 ,with its backs stacked against the wall? It will be a mountain and a half to climb to put it simply, and it will take some unreal power hitting from the batting unit.

Who will make it to the final? RCB strong favourites after the first innings. 

Right, its been batting of the highest order from RCB today, showing no mercy to any of the bowlers. 235 on the board with one over to go, Prasidh to close out the first innings with the ball for GT.

Starts with a nice juicy full toss and Patidar easily puts it away for SIX! Patidar on 85 with five balls to go, can he reach a century? Prasidh pitches it up, hits the inside half of Patidar’s bat, single to long on.

Jitesh slices the length delivery in the air justpast the outstretched hands of the fielder at short backward point, sloppy fielding and RCB manage to take three! Patidar back on strike! 14 to get off three balls for his century! Can he do it?

8 to get off 2 now! That’s SIX DOWN THE GROUND! PATIDAR YOU BEAUTY! ABSOLUTE GENIUS!

Ahhhhhh, that’s only a single, and Patidar has run out of deliveries now to get to his hundred I’m afraid. Last ball of the over, Jitesh can’t finish with a fllourish, two runs of the final delivery but its an excellent effort from the RCB batters! The defending champion finishes with 254/5 in 20 overs

Siraj to bowl the penultimate over of the first innings. Goes for the yorker but comes out as a full toss, Patidar swings it on the off side for SIX! Add FOUR MORE TO THAT! THE RCB CAPTAIN IS PUTTING ON A SHOW TONIGHT! 

Patidar takes a single down the ground. Jitesh Sharma is the new batter for RCB. Ooooh good sharp delivery on the tight line from Siraj, Jitesh tries to cut it but misses out, rare dot ball.

Jitesh nails the cut this time behind square for FOUR! Full toss and Jitesh smashes it over long on for SIX! 

Right, some breath taking shots in the last few overs, can Prasidh apply the brakes? Starts with a wide down leg side. David hands over the strike smartly to the rampant Patidar with a single.

Patidar striking at 270 today, the RCB captain has been hitting the ball seriously well, taking his team to a big total. Good ball from Prasidh, executes the leg stump yorker, Patidar hits it on the leg side for a single.

Pace off short delivery from Prasidh, David pulls it to deep mid wicket for a single. Yorker again from Prasidh but poor piece of fielding by the fielder at short fine and thats FOUR! GT have been poor in the field today, simply nowhere near good enough to put it bluntly. 

Prasidh with another yorker, brilliant bowling, single past the bowler from Patidar. Oooh swing and a miss from David. Prasidh castles David’s stumps! Plays across the line and misses it completely! Much needed breakthrough for GT!

Tim David b Prasidh Krishna 4(5)

Rabada to bowl the 17th. And finally, GT have a breakthrough. Krunal holes the length delivery to deep mid wicket and Sai completes a good catch! Krunal looks dejected to be walking back but he’s done his job for the team! 

Krunal Pandya c Sai Sudharsan b Kagiso Rabada 43(28) [4s-5 6s-2]

Tim David is the new batter for RCB. Gets off the mark with a single first ball. Pace off bouncer and that’s A MASSIVE SIX OVER DEEP MID WICKET! AND THAT’S 50 FOR PATIDAR! THE CAPTAIN WELL AND TRULY LEADING FROM THE FRONT! 

Patidar goes again and that’s the shot of the night! Stands upright in the crease, holds his position and sends the ball over deep covers for SIX MORE!

Rabada pitches it up, Patidar drives it to long on for a single. RCB have crossed 200 with three overs to go, on course for a 240 plus score. David hits it to covers for a single. Another big over for RCB. 

Rashid to bowl the 16th. GT have thrown away their momentum after a couple of expensive overs along with dropped chances in the outfield. Krunal takes a single.

Patidar does not get all of it but its enough for a SIX OVER LONG ON! That’s too short from Rashid, Patidar slaps it straight past the bowler for a single. Krunal joins the party now! SIX OVER DEEP MID WICKET! RCB well and truly playing BOLD at the moment! 

Rashid bowls a googly, Krunal steps out and slices it to deep point for a single. ANOTHER SIX FROM PATIDAR! THE RCB CAPTAIN IS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS! 

Khejroliya with his second. Krunal knocks it to long off for a single. Low middle stump full toss from Khejroliya, Patidar drills it to deep mid wicket for a single.

That’s too high from Khejroliya and Krunal hits it past short backward point for FOUR! Krunal is slightly surprised the waist high no ball is not given, takes the review.

Yes, that’s too high, its a no ball and its a free hit! Can Krunal make the most of it? Free hit continues, wide outside the wide line from Khejroliya.

Oh no, misfield in the boundary line at deep covers and to make matters worse, the ball goes for FOUR! 

Good comeback from Khejroliya, nails the middle stump yorker, Krunal squeezes it on the off side for a single. Nevermind, I spoke too soon, Khejroliya has over stepped and its the second free hit of the over! What a forgetful last few deliveries it has been for the Titans!

Can Patidar make the most of the free hit? Yes he can! Patidar smashes the missed yorker straight past the bowler for FOUR! Rashid tries his best to stop it from long on but can’t stop it!

The onslaught continues, Patidar hooks a SIX behind square on the leg side! Low full toss and Patidar finds the gap between the two fielders in cow corner for FOUR! What an over for RCB, 28 off that!

Prasidh with his second. Leaning edge on the half volley swirling in the air past the keeper’s head and ooooooh Kejroliya puts in the dive from deep third but can’t hold onto it! Difficult chance! 

Nice shot from Patidar, pulls the short delivery behind square for FOUR! Patidar is dropped! Patidar hooks the length delivery in the air and Rabada puts it down at deep square leg! Huge moment in the game! How costly is this going to end up being? 

Full toss from Prasidh and Krunal carves it between the two fielders behind square for FOUR! Krunal tries to find the gap in the same region again but this time hits it straight to the fielder at short third.

Krunal slaps the pace off bouncer straight back to the bowler, deflects off Prasidh’s body for a single. 

Kulwant Khejroliya is into the attack. Patidar tries to go big on the leg side, hits the bottom end of his bat and goes straight past the bowler for a single. Pace off delivery from Kejroliya, beats Krunal’s outside edge. 

Ooooooh, Krunal tries to send it over covers but inside edges it onto his pads, dot ball. Length delivery keeps low, Krunal tries the pull but can’t get bat on that, dot ball. 

Connects with the pull this time, only as far as deep mid wicket for a single. A nice little partnership building here between Patidar and Krunal, can they keep carrying on? Patidar mistimes the slog, single on leg side. Top over from Kejroliya playing his first IPL game in over a year, just three runs. 

Prasidh Krishna is into the attack, Patidar taps the length delivery outside off square for a single. Nice shot from Krunal, makes room and carves it to deep point for a single. 

Ooooh length delivery keeps slightly low, swing and a miss from Patidar. Keeper does not collect it cleanly and RCB take the single. Short from Prasidh, swing and a miss from Krunal.

Prasidh change of an angle and Krunal picks it up over mid off for FOUR! Wow! Krunal somehow adjusts and nails the ramp shot off the length delivery for SIX! 

Holder’s double strike has helped GT pull things back nicely here. The West Indian to continue. Oh what a shot from Patidar! The RCB captain dislodges the length delivery over deep mid wicket for SIX! 

Patidar guides the length ball outside off to deep third for a single. Holder pitches it up, Krunal drives it to mid on for a quick single. Patidar taps it behind square for one more.

Change of angle from Holder, around the wicket, cramps Krunal for room, dot ball. Slot delivery angled to the pads, Krunal flicks it fine for FOUR! 

Another over for Holder. This time he gets the breakthrough. Back of a length and Kohli chops it onto his stumps. Kohli is disappointed. This was such a good start from the RCB batter. 

Virat Kohli b Holder 43 (25b 5x4 1x6)

Holder isn’t done. He dislodges the other set batter too. Gets Padikkal caught behind with one that angled away from the batter. GT storms back into the game. 

Devdutt Padikkal c †Buttler b Holder 30 (19b 5x4 0x6)

Krunal Pandya walks in for RCB. 

In case you were wondering, Kohli vs Rabada in T20s:

Innings - 16

Runs - 111 from 79 balls (strike rate - 140.50)

Dismissals - 6 (average - 18.5)

Fourth over. Too straight from Rabada and Kohli gets it away off his pads for an easy four. Padikkal keeps the momentum going. First he whips one off his pads for a four. Then two cuts, one fine and one square. Both runs away for fours. Sparkling shots from Padikkal. Fifty up for RCB. 

Rabada vs Kohli. This is a match up that could define the game. Rabada starts off with his trademark back of a length. Kohli is beaten twice. Make that thrice. Cuts past Kohli’s inside edge and flies to the keeper. Impeccable length from Rabada. Again the same zone. This time it clips off Kohli’s under edge and RCB scampers in a single. 

Venkatesh isn’t bothered by any of this. He premeditates a scoop and connects. SIX!! 

But, Rabada has the last laugh. Rabada bangs it in off the hard length. Venkatesh goes for a cross-batted swipe. Top edged and Gill chases it down to take a fine catch. 

Venkatesh Iyer c Shubman Gill b Rabada 19 (7b 3x4 1x6)

Siraj with the ball for GT. Venkatesh Iyer on strike for RCB. Kohli at the other end. And the action begins. Or not. There is a small pause before the first ball. Ok. Here we go

Hard length from Siraj first up. Venkatesh thumps it off the back foot through covers for a four. The RCB opener gives the charge to Siraj now. Now through the legside. Four more! Brilliant start for RCB. Siraj pushes the ball full now. Thumped through extra cover for another four. There seems to be no assistance for the pacers on the pitch. Venkatesh with a back-foot nudge to get a single and we have Kohli on strike. The crowd is chanting his name. Kohli gets off the mark with a quick single following a push to covers. 

RCB 14/0 in 1 over

GT came out on top the last time the two sides faced off against each other earlier in the season. Batting first, RCB were bowled out for 155 by GT’s bowlers led by Jason Holder’s two wicket haul.

The Titans chased down the target quite comfortably, by four wickets and with 25 balls to spare. 

Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Impact subs- Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Kumar Kushagra, Sai Kishore 

Venkatesh Iyer, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar

Impact subs- Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Kanishk Chouhan, Abhinandan Singh, Jordan Cox

GT captain Shubman Gill wins the toss and opts to bowl first.

“Looks like a good wicket, dew is usually a factor in the second innings so we’re looking to chase,” says Gill.

One change for GT, Kulwant Khejrolyia is in for Arshad Khan.

RCB captain Rajat Patidar says the pitch will not change much in the second innings and he doesn’t mind batting first. 

“Good wicket, will be looking to put a good total on the board and put pressure on the opposition. We have played good cricket, focusing on playing to our strengths,” says Patidar. 

No Salt for RCB, Jacob Duffy is in.

Duffy and Suyash bowling in tandem on the side pitch. It has been a longish spell for the Kiwi pacer suggesting he might be in line to play. Alternatively, Suyash has been partaking some high-catch practice, too. Not long to find out who will play.

-Anish Pathiyil

RCB opener Phil Salt has missed the majority of the season due to a finger injury and will the Englishman has rejoined the squad ahead of the Playoffs, his participation for tonight’s game is currently unknown.

Ahead of the match, RCB captain Rajat Patidar said Salt is close to returning from injury but a decision on his participation is yet to be taken. We wait for the toss to find out if the 29-year-old will make the cut or not. 

Strength- Top order batting and bowling: GT’s reliable top three, comprising captain Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler has once again delivered the goods, scoring a large volume of runs. The side’s pacers, led by Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj have also fired on all cylinders this season.

Weakness- Its middle order has looked shaky and while Washington Sundar has stepped up on a couple of occasions, it has still lacked the stability that the team management has been seeking. 

Strength- New ball bowling courtesy Bhuveshwar Kumar and Virat Kohli in the batting department, the RCB opener has had another productive season with the bat, the ninth time he has accumulated over 500 runs in a season.

Weakness- The spin bowling department has been little bit of a let down. While Krunal Pandya has made valuable contributions, Suyash Sharma has not been as effective. 

Fans have been trickling into the narrow lanes around the stadium as early as 2 pm and so there is a sizeable crowd in the stadium already. A huge roar erupts as Virat Kohli walks out for a hit near the side nets with Dinesh Karthik providing some throwdowns. Jitesh, too, joins in for a hit.

- Anish Pathiyil

And then, there were four. The IPL playoffs will be contested between four teams- Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Rajasthan Royals, with RCB and GT locking horns in Qualifer 1 tonight.

For defending champion RCB, a win tonight will take the team to its second final in two years while for GT, it’ll be a return to the final for the first time since the 2023 season. 

Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala.

Stay with us as we bring you all the live updates and latest match news from this all-important clash.