That's a wrap for our coverage of the IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 between RCB and GT. A crushing win for the defending champions, and they are through to the fifth IPL final in their history. 

Tomorrow, it's the Eliminator. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) up against Rajasthan Royals (RR). Winner plays GT in Qualifier 2. Loser goes home. Do join us for that.

Goodnight!

A captain's knock from Rajat Patidar. 93 off 33 balls in Qualifier 1. A number of stars for RCB today, but none shone brighter than the skipper himself. He rightly wins the 'Player of the Match' award.

Not all over for GT, despite the sorry showing tonight. They will play Qualifier 2 next, where they will play the winner of tomorrow's Eliminator, for a shot at the final. That's the golden advantage of finishing in the Top 2 -- you get a second go at the final!

92 runs is the second-largest margin of victory (in terms of runs) in IPL playoffs history. Royal Challengers Bengaluru showing exactly why they are the defending champions, displaying pure class with both bat and ball.

VICTORY FOR RCB! It will be back-to-back IPL finals for Royal Challengers Bengaluru! Krunal Pandya gets the final wicket, Mohammed Siraj departs. A terrific, terrific win for RCB. 

Gujarat Titans well and truly outclassed tonight. They'll get another bite at the final in Qualifier 2.

GT 162 all out (19.3)
RCB beat GT by 92 runs.

Prasidh Krishna slams the first boundary of his IPL career! He cuts it square for 4, against Bhuvneshwar Kumar no less. A single on the last ball of the over takes him to 5, which is the highest-score of his T20 career!

GT 161/9 (19)

GONE! Rahul Tewatia's knock comes to an end. Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets his second wicket of the game. Tewatia looks to hit through the off-side, but fails to clear Rajat Patidar at cover.

Tewatia departs for 68 off 43.

GT 156/9 (18.1)

Can Rahul Tewatia somehow get to a 100? He slams Rasikh for a 6 and a 4, and is now 32 away from the 3-figure mark with 2 overs to go. 68* is already is highest-ever score in IPL.

GT 156/8 (18)

GT need 112 runs in the final 3 overs, which is mathematically impossible if RCB bowl 18 legal deliveries. Even if GT hit 18 sixes in the remaining deliveries, they'll only manage to score 108.

By all means and purposes, RCB have booked their spot in the IPL 2026 final!

Half-century for Rahul Tewatia! He gets to the milestone in 33 balls, slamming another boundary against Josh Hazlewood. 6 fours, 3 sixes tonight!

Make that 7 fours! Guides it right between the fielders at deep fine-leg and deep square-leg for 4!

GT 143/8 (17)

More hits from Tewatia! He continues his dominance on the leg-side, slamming Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 4 and 6! He moves up to 48 off 31, and is now on verge of completing his second IPL half-century!

GT 134/8 (16)

WOW! Rahul Tewatia really turning up the gears here. He slams Hazlewood to all parts of the ground. A scoop for 4, then a cracking flick for 6 over deep square-leg, and then guiding it through third-man for 4 more!

Tewatia is up to 36 off 25. Can he get to a half-century?

GT 121/8 (14)

Some consolation hits from Rahul Tewatia here. Romario Shepherd comes in to bowl his first over, but Tewatia slams him for 2 boundaries through the leg-side, with a couple of well-executed pull shots. The second one bring up the 100 for GT!

Oh, and a 6 now! Down on his knee, Tewatia pulls it over deep square-leg for a maximum!

GT 106/8 (12.4)

GONE! 8 down! Kagiso Rabada hit a couple of lusty blows in his short stay, but he departs. He slams a 6 over deep mid-wicket, targets the area again, but doesn't get the connection this time. Great running catch at deep mid-wicket by Virat Kohli.

GT 88/8 (11.2)

Jacob Duffy goes off with figures of 3/39 in 4 overs. There was seemingly a bit of miscommunication as RCB tried to bring on Romario Shepherd as the Impact Player, but the change finally takes place.

SIX and GONE! Rashid Khan slams a maximum over long-on, but then departs a couple of balls later. Duffy delivers a good short ball, Rashid goes for the pull, but ends up edging it to Jitesh behind the stumps.

GT 78/7 (10.3)

10 overs done. Gujarat Titans are tottering at 70/6, with Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan struggling to get bat on ball. 

GT 70/6 (10)

GONE! Jacob Duffy with another wicket! Washington Sundar holes out to Hazlewood at deep third-man, Gujarat Titans lose their sixth wicket. The misery continues for GT, who are probably mentally preparing themselves for Qualifier 2 already.

GT 65/6 (8.2)

Gujarat Titans could suffer the heaviest IPL playoffs defeat (in terms of runs) tonight, if they lose by 63 runs or more. That is looking likely at the moment, with more than 200 runs still to chase down. 

GT 53/5 (7)

GONE! Jason Holder is gone for a duck! Rasikh Salam Dar has 2 wickets in his first over. He goes for a big hit, completely mistimes it, and it's caught by Josh Hazlewood at mid-on. A disastrous powerplay for the Titans.

GT 51/5 (6)

GONE! GT are 4 down! Nishant Sindhu is gone, Rasikh Salam Dar strikes first ball. It's a soft caught-and-bowled dismissal. Sindhu ends up misjudging the bounce, it goes straight back to Rasikh, who takes a sharp catch.

Virat Kohli is charged up! Oh, but he misses a run out chance next ball!

GT 51/4 (5.1)

Jos Buttler's fiery cameo ends! He was looking in terrific touch, slamming 2 boundaries and a maximum against Josh Hazlewood, but the Australian takes his revenge. Buttler looks to give himself room and play it square, but misses, and the stumps are knocked off!

GT 51/3 (4.5)

GONE! Bhuvneshwar Kumar removes Shubman Gill! Terrific delivery, Gill goes for a big heave, ends up getting a tiny inside edge and his stumps are knocked off! Wicket No. 25 for Bhuvneshwar in IPL 2026. RCB are flying! Gill is gone for just 2.

GT 27/2 (3.1)

HIT-WICKET! Major, major shock, Sai Sudharsan is gone! He slams a cracking boundary, but it won't count because his bat swings out of his hand and knocks over his own stumps! Massive early blow for GT.

GT 17/1 (2.3)

A terrific first over bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Just 2 runs off the second over, with 1 coming through a wide. That is just what you need from your pacers to put even more pressure at the start of a big chase.

GT 13/0 (2)

Shubman Gill beaten by a delivery down the leg-side from Duffy, which was caught by wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma. The umpire signalled wide, but Jitesh convinced Patidar to take the DRS review. Fortunately for Gill, the ball didn't touch his bat, but it did kiss his thigh pad. The wide is overturned.

GT 11/0 (1)

We are back! Sai Sudharsan gets Gujarat Titans underway with a lovely shot through mid-wicket. Jacob Duffy, back in the RCB side, concedes a boundary first ball. Shubman Gill at the other end for GT, of course.

GT 4/0 (0.1)

We have a half-time show at Dharamsala! A violin duet takes place first, with 'Vande Mataram' and 'Chak de India' played. Now, we have a laser show! An exhibition of crackers too! 

This is the highest total ever by a team in an IPL playoff match. RCB surpass GT's record of 233/3 against MI in 2023. Kohli started off strong, good cameos by a number of players, Krunal Pandya played an excellent knock, but Rajat Patidar stole the show himself.

GT will have to pull off the highest run chase in an IPL playoff match!

20 overs done, RCB 254/5! Rajat Patidar slams 2 more sixes in the final over to take RCB past 250, but he falls 7 runs short of a century. Patidar ends not out on 93 off 33. Unbelievable batting performance by RCB!

RCB 254/5 (20)
GT Target: 255

Unreal hitting! Rajat Patidar slams Mohammed Siraj for a maximum and a boundary, and then Jitesh Sharma joins the party by doing the same. 21 runs off the 19th over, RCB are already at 235, and on verge of 250!

Patidar is on 79 off 29, can he get to his century? Virat Kohli can't stop clapping in the dugout, he is ecstatic!

RCB 235/5 (19)

GONE! Prasidh Krishna gets Tim David! This is a really decent over given the circumstances, 10 runs off it. A good full delivery from Prasidh , David goes for a big swing but misses and sees his stumps knocked over.

RCB 214/5 (18)

Half-century for Rajat Patidar! He clobbers Rabada for 2 maximums, gets to his fifty in just 21 balls. This is sensational hitting from the RCB captain. 200 is up as well, with more than 3 overs to go. RCB are on track for 250!

RCB 204/4 (17)

GONE! Finally the partnership ends! Kagiso Rabada strikes with the first ball of his final over. Krunal looks to go big over the leg-side, gets caught at deep mid-wicket. Good catch taken by Sai Sudharsan.

An excellent knock at a tough scenario from Krunal. He departs for 43 off 28.

RCB 189/4 (16.1)

3 maximums in 1 over! Krunal Pandya slams Rashid Khan for a 6 over deep mid-wicket, before Rajat Patidar adds to his misery with 2 maximums to end the over. The first one is over long-on, the second over long-off. Patidar is up to 49! 21 off the over.

RCB 189/3 (16)

What an over for RCB! Kulwant Khejroliya bowls 2 no-balls, 1 for a waist-high full toss and 1 front-foot no-ball. Krunal slams 4, but Patidar unleashes carnage in the final 3 balls of the over, slamming 2 more boundaries and a maximum!

RCB 168/3 (15)

Oh dear! What is happening, Patidar has received not 1 but 2 lifelines! Patidar gets a short ball from Prasidh, mistimes the pull, Buttler and Khejroliya run after it but neither fail to take it. Patidar then flicks the next ball for 4. But then he mistimes the next ball, but Rabada drops it at deep square-leg!

Krunal Pandya then adds insult to injury by slamming 4 through third-man. So unlucky for Prasidh.

RCB 140/3 (14)

Krunal Pandya takes on Prasidh Krishna! He slams 4 on the penultimate ball of the 12th over, getting it just over Shubman Gill at mid-off. Next ball, he premeditates it perfectly, and ramps it for 6!

RCB 125/3 (12)

100 up for RCB! Rajat Patidar gets a short ball from Jason Holder and pulls it over deep mid-wicket for 6! First big hit from the RCB captain... he needs to knuckle down and play a big knock today to take RCB to a good score.

Krunal Pandya also gets his first boundary, down fine-leg for 4! Jason Holder's spell comes to an end - 2/39 in 4 overs.

RCB 112/3 (11)

10 overs done, and Gujarat Titans have pulled back RCB brilliantly. Rashid Khan has choked the flow of runs and Jason Holder has delivered 2 huge wickets. Just 23 runs off the last 24 balls. Just 13 runs off the last 18 balls.

RCB 99/3 (10)

GONE! 2 wickets in 3 balls, Jason Holder strikes again! A lovely delivery swinging away from Padikkal, he ends up getting the softest of edges and it's caught behind by Jos Buttler. Is this a game-changing over?

RCB 94/3 (8.4)

GONE! Jason Holder gets Virat Kohli! Jason Holder strikes in his third over, Kohli goes for the pull shot again but ends up getting an inside edge that knocks off the stumps. Kohli is furious with himself, he is out for 43.

GT pulling things back slightly here after the powerplay.

RCB 93/2 (8.2)

It's the record for Virat Kohli! He becomes the first player in IPL history to score 600+ runs in 4 consecutive seasons. 43 runs is what he needed today to achieve it, and he has done so! 

Meanwhile, a rather economical over from Rashid Khan! Just 6 singles off it.

RCB 92/1 (8)

Virat Kohli is absolutely nailing the pull shot today! For the third time, he slams a firm pull for 4, this time against Jason Holder. Kohli up to 40 now, just 3 runs away from the big record!

RCB 86/1 (7)

Virat Kohli attacks Kagiso Rabada! 2 excellent shots through the on-side, and then he slams a short ball for 6 behind the keeper. Kohli is up to 34 now, and just 9 runs away from becoming the first player to score 600 runs in 4 consecutive IPL seasons.

RCB 76/1 (6)

Devdutt Padikkal slams 4 more, and then a misfield from Gujarat Titans sees the ball roll away for 5 runs overthrow! RCB are going at more than 12 runs per over in the powerplay, this is a really aggressive start.

RCB 62/1 (5)

Devdutt Padikkal is in glorious touch! 3 boundaries in a row against Kagiso Rabada, the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. A flick through square-leg for 4, then a late-cut through third-man for 4, and then the best of the lot, a square-cut smashed for 4.

50 up for RCB at the end of the fourth over!

RCB 50/1 (4)

That's more like the Virat Kohli we know! RCB's talisman slams a wonderful shot over mid-off for 4 as Siraj comes in to bowl his second over. After a tentative start, that shot will help Kohli get going.

Siraj troubles Padikkal, couple of close calls and appeals for LBW and a caught-and-bowled turned down. Padikkal then frees his arms, slams Siraj for 4 over mid-off to get off the mark!

RCB 32/1 (3)

Kagiso Rabada has made early impact! He breathes fire in his first over, beating Kohli 3 times in a row. Venkatesh Iyer then comes on strike, laps Rabada for 6, but then mistimes the next ball and Shubman Gill takes an excellent running catch!

RCB 21/1 (2)

Magnificent start by Venkatesh Iyer! He follows up the first-ball boundary with 4 more through mid-wicket, and then another glorious cover drive for 4 on the fourth ball of the over. 

Kohli gets off the mark on the last ball of the over.

RCB 14/0 (1)

We are LIVE! Venkatesh Iyer gets us going with a boundary first ball! Short-ish from Siraj, Venkatesh stands tall and punches it through the covers for 4. Virat Kohli at the other end.

RCB 4/0 (0.1)

Right then! With RCB batting first, all attention turns to Virat Kohli, who will begin his chase to become the first player in IPL history to make 600+ runs in 4 consecutive seasons. He is 43 runs away from that milestone.

The good news for everyone: the rain has stayed away in Dharamsala till now. There was a good chance of rain at the HPCA Stadium in the hours leading up to the match, but it looks to be all clear as of now.

Gujarat Titans XI vs RCB: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

1 change for GT: Kulwant Khejroliya replaces Arshad Khan. Expect Rahul Tewatia to be the Impact Player.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru XI vs GT: Virat Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Dar, Josh Hazlewood, Jacob Duffy.

No Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer stays. That allows RCB to bring in Jacob Duffy. Romario Shepherd or Suyash Sharma could be the Impact Player.

Gujarat Titans have won the toss and opted to bowl! Shubman Gill calls 'tails' and it's the right call. He opts to bowl, meaning Virat Kohli and RCB will be batting first!

A major asset for RCB this season has been pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He has performed exceptionally well for his side and he also enjoys brilliant T20 records against Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler. While the veteran fast bowler has taken the wicket of Buttler nine times, Gill has been dismissed by him on five occasions.

"First of all, let me do the dimensions. 63 to my left, 63 to my right, 73 down the ground. This is a place with fairly small pockets, however, only 58 metres to that slog corner spot. Now, one thing, I'll just come and have a quick look at this pitch, because I've spotted a few little cracks on this pitch. It is rock hard, but those few cracks, whether that means there'll be anything for the bowlers, I don't know. But one thing I do think, this will be good for batters. Win the toss, bowl first," Graeme Swann said on Star Sports.

When it comes their head-to-head record, RCB and GT are tied at 4 wins each. In their previous match this season, Sai Sudharsan scored a century but it was all in vain as Virat Kohli led by example to clinch a brilliant win for RCB.

Gujarat Titans are set to get a major boost if they win today's Qualifier 1. The IPL 2026 final will be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which is GT's home ground. If GT reach the final, they'll certainly be favourites at their home ground.

Gujarat Titans' biggest worry will be their fragile middle-order. Washington Sundar has scored more than 300 runs this season, but apart from him, no one in GT's middle-order has even 100 runs. This is why GT rely heavily on their Top 3, and the day they don't work, it could lead to trouble for them.

While Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill may grab the headlines, GT's left-handed opener Sai Sudharsan goes quietly under the radar. Once again, Sai Sudharsan finds himself as the leader in the Orange Cap race, with 638 runs in 14 innings. Over the last couple of years, he has built himself as Mr. Consistency of the IPL!

GT's predicted XII vs RCB: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

One of the more settled sides in the tournament, GT are unlikely to alter their combination.

RCB's predicted XII vs GT: Virat Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Dar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma.

RCB are unlikely to tinker with their combination, unless Phil Salt is fit enough. In that case, Salt may replace Venkatesh.

Be it Jason Holder for Gujarat Titans or Krunal Pandya for RCB, all-rounders have played a key role in the success of the franchises. Holder came into the GT side mid-season and has completely changed their balance, chipping in with wickets and adding powerful cameos in the middle order.

On the other hand, Krunal has been a regular wicket-taker with his left-arm spin, while playing a few match-saving knocks too!

Royal Challengers Bengaluru are still fretting over the availability of Rs 11.5 crore opener Phil Salt. Recovering from a lengthy injury, it will be interesting to see whether RCB do go with Salt, or stick with the in-form Venkatesh Iyer.

Amazingly, the head-to-head record between RCB and GT is 4-4. In 8 matches, RCB have won 4 times and GT have 4 times, with no game ending in a no-result. Today's match will see the winner take the H2H lead, and also make it to the final!

In IPL 2026, RCB won the first game at Bengaluru, chasing down a target of 206, while GT took revenge in the return leg at Ahmedabad, bundling RCB out for just 155.

Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill, the star openers of RCB and GT respectively, face off in Qualifier 1 tonight. The 'King' of Indian cricket up against the heir to his throne, in a decisive battle, with a spot in the IPL final at stake. How Kohli and Gill perform tonight could be extremely decisive in which team makes the final.

Gill is the second-highest run-scorer of IPL 2026, with 616 runs in 13 innings. Kohli is not far behind, with 557 runs in 14 innings, but he has a better average and strike-rate this season.

Today's match could be decided by the pace bowling units of both teams. RCB boast Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood and Rasikh Dar, while GT have Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Jason Holder and potentially Prasidh Krishna.

Bhuvneshwar, at 36, is enjoying his best IPL season in years, while Rabada and Siraj have wrecked several teams during the powerplay this year.

RCB talisman Virat Kohli is just 43 runs away from becoming the first batter to score 600+ runs in 4 consecutive IPL seasons. He has done so in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and currently sits on 557 runs in IPL 2026.

So far, 3 other players have made 600+ runs in 3 successive IPL seasons:

- Chris Gayle (2011, 2012, 2013)
- David Warner (2016, 2017, 2019)
- KL Rahul (2020, 2021, 2022)

There is a chance that the Qualifier 1 clash at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala is hampered by rain. As per AccuWeather, there is a 48% chance of rain between 5 PM and 6 PM, and a 54% chance of rain between 6 PM and 7 PM. However, thereafter, the chance of rainfall goes down to nil.

7 PM is the toss time, while the match is scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM.

For Gujarat Titans, it has been another solid campaign, defined by the performances of their star batters and bowlers. Captain Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan have been run-machines once again, while they have arguably the best bowling unit of IPL 2026, led by pacers Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj. 

If they win tonight, it will be 3 IPL finals in 5 years for the Titans!

It has been another excellent campaign for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. RCB, led by Rajat Patidar, have played like defending champions, topping the points table in IPL 2026. They have arguably the most well-balanced team in the entire tournament, with multiple players stepping up to be match-winners.

As a result, it would be no surprise if they make it back-to-back IPL finals!

Hello and welcome to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 playoffs! We begin with the live coverage of Qualifier 1, between table-toppers and reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and second-placed Gujarat Titans (GT). The winner of today's match goes straight to the final!

Stay tuned to NDTV Sports for all the live updates from the match.