Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) produced a dominant all-round display to beat Gujarat Titans (GT) by 92 runs in IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 on Tuesday in Dharamshala. Captain Rajat Patidar led from the front with a sensational knock that helped RCB storm into the IPL 2026 final.
During the post-match presentation, Player of the Match Patidar reflected on RCB’s aggressive batting approach. “Super game for us, the way the batters dominated, striking with intent, was good for us,” he said. “It wasn’t a clear plan, but we were ready for it, have to show some body language that we are ready for you, every batter showed it, attacking mindset.”
Batting first, RCB posted a massive total of 254/5 in their 20 overs. Although Patidar narrowly missed out on a century, his blistering unbeaten 93 off just 33 balls, including five fours and nine sixes at a strike rate of 281.81, powered RCB to the highest total in IPL playoffs history.
On his batting approach and plans, Patidar added, “I take a few balls, 8-10 balls, to see how the wicket is doing and then I have a clear mind to go about it, I’m not worried about my wicket. I try and put the bowler under pressure. The wicket was not that easy to get under the ball and hit, there was variable bounce. The way GT have played till now, we were clear we had to get their three main batters out in the powerplay, and it worked.”
The 32-year-old has been in brilliant form this season. His ability to dominate spin and deliver consistently in the middle order makes him a valuable asset for RCB. He has scored 486 runs in 13 innings at an average of 44.18 and an impressive strike rate of 196.76, including 41 sixes.
With this win, RCB moved into the final in Ahmedabad on May 31.
For latest sports updates: Follow RevSportz