Ahmedabad: After waiting 18 years for their elusive first Indian Premier League title, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are in with a prospect of clinching two in two when they take on a dangerous Gujarat Titans in what is expected to be a tantalising IPL 2026 Final at the imposing Narendra Modi Stadium, here on Sunday.
The Rajat Patidar-led side will be fancying themselves to retain the IPL crown having earlier beaten Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 in convincing fashion by 92 runs to storm into the summit clash and give their loyal and passionate fanbase all the more reason to celebrate after the IPL 2025 glory.
RCB has been firing on all cylinders and the skipper Patidar himself has been in fiery nick having blasted a superb 93 off just 33 balls in Qualifier 1 to put the Gujarat Titans’ bowlers under all sorts of pressure and they will bear that in mind when the face off happens again on Sunday.
It’s not just the captain but the entire RCB top-order including the iconic Virat Kohli who are in fine touch with the bat with Kohli having smashed a quickfire 43 off 25 balls in Qualifier 1 at a strike rate of 172. Krunal Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer and Devdutt Padikkal are all chipping in with some very useful knocks and strike rates of 150 plus to 250 plus.
With a batting line-up where Jitesh Sharma comes in at No 7, RCB have most of their bases covered in the willow department and would be aiming to put up another 250-plus total should they bat first in the final.
The defending champions’ bowling has been in reasonably good shape providing perfect support to the batters, who are putting up big totals consistently.
Jacob Duffy and Bhuveshwar Kumar were all over the Gujarat Titans batters in Qualifier 1 with their penetrative lines and lengths and especially the latter’s ball that got Shubman Gill castled was a peach of a delivery that showed the form he’s in at the moment.
Josh Hazlewood is always in the mix with his ability to pick wickets at crucial junctures just like he saw the back of Jos Buttler in Q1. Rasikh Salam and Krunal Pandya have been very effective in the middle overs pegging back the opposition’s scoring rate and pushing them to take unwarranted risks fetching them wickets.
Although, RCB have most bases covered at the moment, it would be foolhardy to discount Gujarat Titans’ potential to top them.
Gill-led Titans will have their tails up when they take the field on Sunday having absolutely walloped the Rajasthan Royals, who at the halfway stage of Qualifier 2 would have fancied their chances after another Sooryavanshi special.
Gill and Sai Sudharsan’s 167-run opening wicket partnership literally won them the game with Buttler, Washington Sundar and Rahul Tewatia left with little to do in a chase of 215 as they won by seven wickets with eight balls to spare.
Their batting looks in good shape although Buttler, Sundar and Tewatia were barely tested and with a strong bowling line up comprising Mohammad Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Sundar, Jason Holder and Rashid Khan, Gujarat will hope to give RCB a run for their money and take a shot at their second IPL title after the historic victory in 2022, their debut season.
With the pitch having a higher proportion of red soil, a high-scoring contest is very likely with batters from both sides going full throttle in the biggest game of the biggest league in the world.
Irrespective of who wins, the IPL will have a team with their second title and if RCB come out on top, it will be a perfect gift to their fans after the wild ride of 2025 when they clinched their first crown and then the events that followed post that.
Both teams will be aiming to clinch their second titles
Squads:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB): Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar, Jordan Cox, Abhinandan Singh, Swapnil Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Philip Salt, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra, Mangesh Yadav, Satvik Deswal, Richard Gleeson, Jacob Duffy.
Gujarat Titans (GT): 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.
