New Delhi, May 27 (). In Qualifier-1 of IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) performed brilliantly by defeating Gujarat Titans by 92 runs and made it to the final for the second consecutive time. In the match played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala, Kolkata, RCB batted first and scored a huge score of 254/5 in 20 overs. In reply, Gujarat Titans team was all out after scoring 162 runs in 19.3 overs. Captain Rajat Patidar was chosen player of the match for his brilliant performance in this match.
With this victory, RCB made many big records in its name. This became the second biggest win in terms of runs in IPL playoff history. Earlier in 2008, Rajasthan Royals had defeated Delhi Capitals by 105 runs. Now RCB has reached second place in this list with a win of 92 runs. RCB had registered a 71-run win against Rajasthan Royals in 2015. Whereas in 2012, Chennai Super Kings defeated Delhi by 86 runs and in 2023, Mumbai Indians defeated Lucknow Super Giants by 81 runs.
This also happened for the first time that in the nine matches played between these two teams, the team batting first has won. Earlier, the team chasing the target was successful in every match.
This was the second biggest defeat for Gujarat Titans in terms of runs. Earlier in the same season, Mumbai Indians had defeated them by 99 runs in Ahmedabad.
RCB’s experienced fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has taken 26 wickets so far this season. He has reached joint second place in terms of taking most wickets for RCB in a season. Harshal Patel tops this list in 2021 with 32 wickets. Wanindu Hasaranga also took 26 wickets in 2022. Whereas R. Vinay Kumar (2013) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2015) took 23 wickets each.
RCB also achieved a special achievement by reaching the final for the second consecutive year. So far in IPL history, only a few teams have been able to reach the finals of the next season after winning the title. Chennai Super Kings had achieved this feat in 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2018-19, while Mumbai Indians had done it in 2019-20 and Gujarat Titans had done it in 2022-23. Now RCB has added its name to this list in 2025-26.
With this, RCB also became the third team to play the most number of finals in IPL history. Chennai Super Kings are at the first two positions with 10 finals and Mumbai Indians with six finals. RCB has now reached the final for the fifth time. Kolkata Knight Riders have played the finals four times and Sunrisers Hyderabad three times.
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