RCB Vs GT Qualifier 1 Match Facts, IPL 2026: All You Need To Know About Qualifier 1 Clash

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is set to another step towards their second consecutive Indian Premier League title as they take on a prolific Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier 1 amid the serene Dhauladhar ranges at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala on Tuesday, May 25.

RCB topped the table in the league with 18 points but the Titans have also been equally good and were just beneath the defending champions in the standings with same number of points, separated only by NRR.

Kohli Affect Could Be A Factor

While both teams look equally matched on paper and performance, RCB have the Kohli advantage. Apart from being a world beater, Virat Kohli has been an IPL legend too and has played a crucial role in RCB's successful campaign this year, with 557 runs in 14 matches at an average in excess of 50.

His vast experience of playing in knockout matches at the international stage and in IPL gives RCB an advantage over GT, whose top-order has also churned runs for fun in the form of Shubman Gill (616) and Sai Sudharsan (638).

While GT's middle-order looked a bit brittle throughout the league stage, RCB has the reliability of Patidar, David, and Jitesh Sharma in the middle.

Bowling Looks Equally Matched

While RCB might be in front in the batting department, bowling is where the contest is neck-to-neck between the top two teams. While Josh Hazlewood is a big match bowlers and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (24 wickets) has been a revelation for RCB, GT has the most dangerous pace duo of the tournament in the form of Kagiso Rabada (24 wickets) and Mohammed Siraj (17 wickets).

The middle-overs duel between Rashid Khan and RCB’s right-heavy batting unit could also prove decisive, although skipper Patidar’s strong game against spin gives Bengaluru an important counter-option.

RCB Vs GT, IPL 2026: Match Details

• Venue: HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala

• Date: Tuesday, May 25, 2026

• Time: 7:30 PM IST

• Captains: Rajat Patidar (RCB), Shubman Gill (GT)

• On-field Umpires: Jayaraman Madanagopal, Virender Sharma

• Third Umpire: Nitin Menon

• League Standings: RCB – 1st, GT – 2nd

RCB Vs GT, IPL 2026: Head-To-Head

Matches: 8

RCB: 4

GT: 4

RCB Vs GT, IPL 2026: Squads

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Venkatesh Iyer, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar, Philip Salt, Abhinandan Singh, Swapnil Singh, Jordan Cox, Kanishk Chouhan, Jacob Duffy, Richard Gleeson, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra, Mangesh Yadav, Satvik Deswal

Gujarat Titans: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Arshad Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kumar Kushagra, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Shahrukh Khan, Ishant Sharma, Luke Wood, Ashok Sharma, Connor Esterhuizen, Gurnoor Brar, Manav Suthar, Jayant Yadav