In the first qualifier of IPL 2026, finally the team for which crores of fans were waiting shone. Royal Challengers Bangalore not only defeated Gujarat Titans but also completely eliminated them from the match. In this high-voltage match played in Dharamshala, RCB registered a huge victory of 92 runs and directly entered the final of IPL 2026.

While on one hand Rajat Patidar's captaincy innings took the stadium by storm, on the other hand Virat Kohli once again proved that his name alone is enough in big matches. Gujarat Titans team could never recover from this pressure and after the initial setbacks, the match completely went to RCB.

RCB made the biggest score in IPL playoff history

After winning the toss, Gujarat Titans chose to bowl first, but this decision proved costly for them. RCB scored a huge score of 254/5 in 20 overs, which became the highest score in IPL playoff history. Captain Rajat Patidar scored unbeaten 93 runs in just 33 balls. Rain of fours and sixes was seen in his innings. Virat Kohli gave a great start by scoring 43 runs, while Krunal Pandya also played an important inning of 43 runs. In this match, Virat Kohli made another big record in his name. He became the first player in IPL history to score more than 600 runs in four consecutive seasons.

The start of Gujarat Titans spoiled the entire match.

Gujarat Titans, who set out to chase the target of 255 runs, had a very bad start. The team lost five wickets in the powerplay itself. Sai Sudarshan was out after being hit-wicket, while captain Shubhman Gill walked out after scoring only 2 runs. Jos Buttler did hit some aggressive shots, but could not play a big innings. At one time it seemed that GT team would not be able to reach even 100 runs. Although Rahul Tewatia definitely struggled by scoring 68 runs, he did not get any special support from the other side.

RCB bowlers showed their strength

RCB's bowling completely dominated this match. Jacob Duffy took 3 wickets, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam Dar and Krunal Pandya took 2 wickets each. Bhuvneshwar Kumar changed the course of the match in the beginning by taking the big wicket of Shubhman Gill. Whereas Rasikh Dar pushed GT on the backfoot by taking consecutive wickets in the powerplay.

RCB's biggest win in IPL playoffs

This win of 92 runs became the biggest win in terms of runs in IPL playoff history. Defending champion RCB made it clear with this performance that the team is fully prepared to play the final for the second consecutive year. Now Gujarat Titans will have to play Qualifier-2 to reach the final, where they will face the winning team of the eliminator match.

full scorecard of the match

Royal Challengers Bengaluru – 254/5 (20 overs)

• Rajat Patidar – 93* (33)
• Virat Kohli – 43
• Krunal Pandya – 43

Gujarat Titans – 162 all out (19.3 overs)

• Rahul Tewatia – 68
• Jacob Duffy – 3 wickets
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 2 wickets

Special night for RCB fans

The grounds of Dharamshala appeared completely colored in red. The stadium echoed with every shot of Virat Kohli, while Rajat Patidar's captaincy innings further strengthened the fans' dream of the final. RCB is now going to play the IPL final for the second consecutive time and the team's confidence seems to be at its peak at the moment.