Delhi: In the first qualifier match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 played in Dharamshala, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Gujarat Titans (GT) by 92 runs and made it to the final in spectacular fashion. The Gujarat team, which came to chase the difficult target of 255 runs, disintegrated under pressure and never seemed to make a complete comeback in the match. However, despite this defeat, the Gujarat Titans team is not out of the tournament yet. Now it will have another chance to reach the final in Qualifier-2 to be played in Mohali on 29th May, where it will face the winning team of the eliminator match.

Fielding became the biggest reason for Gujarat’s defeat

After the end of the match, Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill openly commented on the weaknesses of the team. He admitted that apart from batting, mistakes in fielding took the team away from the competition. According to Gill, the team dropped many important catches and the agility of the players on the field was also not as expected, of which Royal Challengers Bangalore took full advantage.

Shubhman Gill said that the team was in the match till about the 12th or 13th over, but after that continuous mistakes changed the course of the match. He also admitted that the players could not execute their plans properly in pressure situations.

Had expected a good start in powerplay

The Gujarat Titans captain believed that a bigger target could have been achieved considering Dharamshala’s small boundary and fast outfield. He said that on this ground the batsmen do not face much difficulty in scoring runs and if the team had got a fast start in the powerplay then the match could have gone in a different direction.

Gill said that the first six overs are very important in a big run chase. If the start is strong then later the pressure on the batsmen reduces, but the Gujarat team could not get the start they needed.

Sai Sudarshan’s wicket became a big shock

Sai Sudarshan’s dismissal after getting hit wicket in the initial phase of the match proved to be a big blow for Gujarat Titans. Shubhman Gill termed it very unfortunate. He said that such a wicket is rarely seen in cricket and Sudarshan’s dismissal at that time was a disappointing moment for the team.

Now the eyes of Gujarat Titans are fixed on the next match to be held in Mohali, where the team would like to leave behind the previous defeat and return to the race for the finals with renewed vigor.