Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans meet in the IPL 2026 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday 31 May. RCB, the defending champions, are widely seen as favourites. They reached the final in dominant style, beating GT by 92 runs in Qualifier 1.
Gujarat, led by Shubman Gill, had to take the longer route. They bounced back in Qualifier 2 with a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals, earning a second chance at the title. They also have home conditions in Ahmedabad, and will be expected to put up a serious challenge in front of their supporters.
Even so, Rajat Patidar’s RCB have looked the more complete team this season, with batting, bowling and fielding all in rhythm at the right time. Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Venkatesh Iyer and Tim David form the core of the batting, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood and Jacob Duffy leading the attack. Gujarat’s main strengths are Sai Sudharsan, Gill and Jos Buttler with the bat, and Kagiso Rabada, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj and Jason Holder with the ball.
