Defending champion RCB seems the favourite for the IPL 2026 crown despite enduring minor blips along the road this season.  | Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

There was practically nothing to separate Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans at the end of the league stage of IPL 2026. Both sides had accumulated nine wins and 18 points and were separated by just nine hundredths in their Net Run Rate. Even their head-to-head clashes ended with a victory for each. But, when they meet at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala for their Qualifier 1 contest on Tuesday, the winner can take a large stride forward towards securing a second IPL title.

Defending champion RCB seems the favourite for the crown despite enduring minor blips along the road this season. The side’s success in this edition is in large part due to the performances of its two most senior cricketers. There was never a worry about Virat Kohli churning runs at the top of the order, but his season strike rate of 163.82 is the highest it has ever been. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, too, has turned back the clock a decade. He has already picked 24 wickets this tournament at a praise-worthy economy rate of just 8.07.

These contributions have been supplemented by some excellent cricket from the young Indian core. Devdutt Padikkal has scored over 400 runs this season at 171.82 and acts as the perfect bridge between Kohli at the top and the sporadic-but-powerful middle order.

Rasikh Salam Dar has played a crucial role as the third seamer, recording 14 wickets in just 10 games, especially as Josh Hazlewood has been slightly off-colour after a long injury layoff. Rasikh was the pick of the bowlers when RCB defeated Punjab Kings at this venue last week. With short boundaries and barely any help on offer for the spinners, RCB might be tempted to play Jacob Duffy, considering Phil Salt is yet to get the go ahead to play after injury.

Gujarat Titans has been a top-heavy side over the last couple of seasons and this year has been no different. Openers Shubman Gill and B. Sai Sudharsan are GT’s batting bedrock, with each of them scoring over 600 runs this season. Jos Buttler and Washington Sundar have been on the nose at No.3 and 4 to ensure the innings doesn’t tail off after a solid start. No batter apart from these four have contributed three-figure runs through the season.

The real difference maker in the GT ranks this season has been South African pacer Kagiso Rabada, whose fiery pace has given him 24 wickets this edition. The inclusion of West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder has been vital through the middle overs. He has picked 13 wickets with his hit-the-deck bowling, while conceding runs at just 7.34 rpo. Rashid Khan, too, seems to have found his mojo back after two underwhelming years for the franchise.

The short boundaries at the scenic Dharamsala stadium often render contests as a direct confrontation of batting might but with two in-form bowling line-ups on display, it could well be the execution with the ball that eventually decides the winner.

Published on May 25, 2026