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Royal Challengers Bengaluru take on Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2026 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala, with a direct spot in the final at stake. Both sides finished among the top two after a tightly contested league stage, separated only by net run rate despite identical win-loss records.
RCB, GT and Sunrisers Hyderabad all ended the league phase with nine wins and five defeats from 14 matches. RCB secured the top spot with a superior net run rate of 0.783, while GT finished second with 0.695. SRH narrowly missed out despite posting 0.524.
Much of the spotlight, however, will remain on Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill heading into the high-pressure clash. Kohli has once again anchored RCB's campaign with another 500-plus run season, combining consistency with attacking intent at the top of the order.
Gill, meanwhile, has led GT from the front with 616 runs and has looked increasingly dominant as the tournament has progressed. With both batters among the leading run-scorers this season, Qualifier 1 could ultimately hinge on which star opener delivers the bigger impact under playoff pressure.
Follow the live updates from the match below:
Both Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans are expected to field near full-strength lineups for Qualifier 1 in Dharamshala.
RCB’s probable XI features the returning Phil Salt alongside Virat Kohli at the top.
GT, meanwhile, are likely to rely on their established top-order trio, with Rashid Khan and Kagiso Rabada leading the bowling attack. Mohammed Siraj is also set to face his former franchise in a high-pressure playoff clash.
RCB vs GT Possible Playing XI
RCB: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar (capt.), Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Romario Shepherd, Rashik Salam, Josh Hazlewood.
GT: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (capt.), Jos Buttler, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Arshad Khan, Mohammed Siraj.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s run to Qualifier 1 has once again been anchored by Virat Kohli, who crossed the 500-run mark for a fourth straight season to provide consistency at the top of the order. RCB have also been boosted by the return of Phil Salt ahead of the playoffs, with the England opener having scored 202 runs in six innings before suffering a finger injury during the league stage. Devdutt Padikkal has added further depth to the batting lineup with 433 runs, including three half-centuries.
RCB’s bowling attack has been led by the experienced pace trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood and Rasikh Salam. Bhuvneshwar enters Qualifier 1 as the joint-leading wicket-taker of IPL 2026 with 24 wickets, while Hazlewood has claimed 12 wickets despite arriving midway through the campaign. Rasikh, meanwhile, has emerged as one of RCB’s standout performers with 14 wickets in 10 matches during a breakthrough season.
Gujarat Titans head into Qualifier 1 on the back of a season built around the consistency of Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler. Sudharsan has led the scoring charts with 638 runs, while Gill has closely followed with 616 in another strong campaign as captain. Buttler has added further stability with 469 runs, making GT’s top order one of the most productive batting units of IPL 2026.
With the ball, Kagiso Rabada has spearheaded the attack with 24 wickets, joint-most in the tournament alongside RCB pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Rashid Khan has continued to control the middle overs with 19 wickets, while Mohammed Siraj has chipped in with 17 wickets in an effective all-round bowling effort from GT this season.
The tournament’s leading run-scorer, Sai Sudharsan spoke about the mindset behind his prolific IPL 2026 campaign for GT while speaking to the broadcasters ahead of Qualifier 1.
Calm mind. Clear decisions. 🙌
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) May 26, 2026
Orange Cap holder #SaiSudharsan opens up on learning from failures, staying mentally fresh and constantly improving his game 🏏⚡
Watch #TATAIPL Playoffs | Qualifier 1 | #RCBvGT | TUE, 26 MAY, 6:30 PM pic.twitter.com/N56LaZ6bee
Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans enter Qualifier 1 with the head-to-head record evenly split this season.
RCB produced one of the standout chases of IPL 2026 in the first meeting, hunting down a 206-run target in Bengaluru with seven balls to spare.
GT responded in the reverse fixture at Ahmedabad, becoming the first team to bowl out RCB this season as they limited the defending champions to just 155, before securing a comfortable four-wicket win inside 16 overs.
The contrasting results add further intrigue to a playoff clash between these two evenly matched sides.
In an IPL season that has belonged to batters, a handful of bowlers have consistently managed to control games, break partnerships and survive the brutal conditions.
The IPL 2026 Purple Cap race has become one of the most compelling subplots of the season, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kagiso Rabada, Jofra Archer, Rashid Khan and Eshan Malinga all still in contention.
Here's a look at how they stack up.
The IPL shared a cinematic preview ahead of Qualifier 1 between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans, capturing the build-up to one of the biggest matches of the IPL 2026 season so far.
𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙚 🥶
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 26, 2026
A Final berth is on the line in Dharamshala 🏟️#TATAIPL | #TheFinalLeap | #RCBvGT | @RCBTweets | @gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/WcFUqiPVOL
A place in the IPL 2026 final and, statistically, a major edge in the title race will be on the line when Royal Challengers Bengaluru face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala today.
Since the playoff system was introduced in 2011, the team winning Qualifier 1 has gone on to lift the IPL trophy in 12 of the 15 seasons, underlining the massive advantage of securing a direct route to the final.
Scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM IST, the clash brings together two of the season’s standout sides, led by Rajat Patidar and Shubman Gill, after both teams finished level on points in the league stage.
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