RCB vs GT IPL 2026 Final: Royal Challengers Bengaluru may ring in some changes at the top of the order to partner Virat Kohli in the title clash while Gujarat Titans will be concerned about their middle order ahead of title clash at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Updated: May 31, 2026, 9:31 AM IST
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RCB opener Virat Kohli at a training session at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday. (Photo: PTI)
RCB vs GT IPL 2026 Final: Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru have marched into the final for the second successive year as they get ready to face 2022 winners Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 title clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. RCB were in sizzling form as they crushed GT by 92 runs in Qualifier 1 in Dharamshala to book their berth in the final.
Rajat Patidar’s RCB have been boosted by the addition of England opener Phil Salt in their squad. Salt was ruled out for more than three weeks due to a finger injury and had returned to England to recover at home before rejoining the squad ahead of the Playoffs stages.
Salt, who was retained for Rs 11.5 crore by RCB ahead of IPL 2026 season, scored 202 runs in 6 matches at a strike-rate of 168.33 before getting sidelined. It will be interesting to see if the IPL 2025 winners will risk playing with Salt in the crucial clash along side Virat Kohli.
If Salt is not fully fit to play, the Venkatesh Iyer will continue to open the batting alongside Kohli. Iyer was signed up for Rs 7 crore at the IPL 2026 mini auction last year and has scored 177 runs in 6 matches with a strike-rate of 184.37 with 1 fifty to his name.
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RCB may also look to add additional spin bowling option in leg-spinner Suyash Sharma in place of New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy considering the hot and humid conditions in Ahmedabad. Suyash has played in only 12 matches so far this season and claimed 9 wickets. Duffy has also claimed 9 wickets in 5 matches only.
“If you want to win this competition, you need a good bowling attack. It is important to take wickets because these days it is easy to score 200 or 220. But defending those totals is more difficult, so you need a better bowling side. Both teams have the same strength in that regard. The way both teams have bowled throughout the tournament has been outstanding,” RCB captain Rajat Patidar said in the pre-match press conference in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Shubman Gill’s GT, on the other hand, will be concerned by the form of their middle order. While captain Gill and his opening partner Sai Sudharsan have been topping the run-scoring charts with 722 runs and 710 runs respectively, most of the middle-order barring no. 3 Jos Buttler with 507 runs have struggled so far this season.
Even in Qualifier 1, GT batting fell apart when Gill and Sudharsan were dismissed early. In the Qualifier 2 match, Gill was reluctant to use left-arm spinner R. Sai Kishore with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ravindra Jadeja batting through majority of the innings. It will be interesting to see if Kishore will have an impact with RCB line-up filled with majority of right-handed batters.
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans IPL 2026 Final match Predicted 12
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer/Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam, Jacob Duffy/Suyash Sharma
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj
