Rajat Patidar (Image credit: BCCI/IPL)
New Delhi: The winner of Qualifier 1 – be it defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru or Gujarat Titans – will directly book a place in the final of IPL 2026. The summit match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
During the press conference ahead of the first qualifier, RCB captain Rajat Patidar was asked about the possibility of the defending champions missing out on playing the final at their home ground, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, if they qualify for the title clash.The BCCI has moved the IPL 2026 final to Ahmedabad due to operational reasons.
“It is not in my control. I think the BCCI should decide where the final will be held. This is a historical site, so wherever the final will be held, that is where it will be held.
“We are focused on reaching the final,” Patidar told reporters.RCB will carry the faith of the defending champions into the first qualifier when they take on the Gujarat Titans at the picturesque HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Tuesday.The winner will qualify directly to the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday, while the losing team will get another chance through Qualifier 2. The loser of Qualifier 1 will face the winner of the elimination match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals.
Both RCB and GT finished the league stage with 18 points from 14 matches, with RCB claiming first place due to a superior net run rate after a consistently strong campaign.Patidar also admitted that bowlers are finding it increasingly difficult to survive an IPL season dominated by 200-over totals. The RCB captain admitted that even grades of 220-250 were no longer safe, and said the conditions had made life more difficult, especially for passengers.“I feel it is more difficult for the bowlers. The wicket is batting friendly, the boundaries are smaller and there is a dew as well. Especially for the fast bowlers, even a small mistake goes for a six,” Patidar said during the pre-match media interaction.“But whatever wicket or conditions we get, we just try to do our best on it. It’s not up to me to decide how the wicket should be,” he added.“Both teams have performed well throughout the season. On a given day, whichever team executes its plans better and remains calm under pressure will win,” he said.the difference:Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (captain), Virat Kohli, Tim David, Jacob Bethell, Romario Shepherd, Josh Hazlewood, Nuwan Thushara, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Krunal Pandya, Raseekh Dhar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jordan Cox, Suyash Sharma, Venkatesh Layer, Swapnil Singh, Jacob Duffy, Kanishk Chauhan, Abhinandan Singh, Mangesh Yadav, Phil Salt, Satvik Deswal, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra.Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Kumar Koshagra, Glenn Phillips, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kagiso Rabada, Ravisrinivasan, Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Sharma, Jason Holder, Tom Banton, Lock Wood, Sai Sudarsan, Rahul Tewatia, Arshad Khan, Anuj Rawat, Kulwant Kejrolia, Gurnoor Brar, M Shah Rukh Khan
Who do you think will win the first qualifier between RCB and Gujarat Titans?
