Gujarat Titans defeated defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL 2026 clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday, successfully chasing 156 with 4 wickets in hand.
RCB were bowled out for 155, with Arshad Khan picking up 3 wickets, while Rashid Khan and Jason Holder claimed 2 each. Devdutt Padikkal’s 40 was the top score for Bengaluru. In reply, skipper Shubman Gill’s blistering 43 and Jos Buttler’s 39 at the top of the order laid the foundation for the hosts’ comfortable chase.
“Feels very satisfying. I was just feeling I was in the zone. First ball I got a bit lucky and then I thought today was my day. I was confident of taking the bowling on,” he said reflecting on the pitch and conditions at play.
After winning
the toss, Gill opted to field, and Gujarat struck early when Jacob Bethell fell for 5, dismissed by Mohammed Siraj. Virat Kohli followed soon after for 28, taken by Kagiso Rabada. Padikkal anchored the innings as Rajat Patidar, Jitesh Sharma, Tim David and Krunal Pandya all departed with single-digit scores.
Rashid Khan ended Padikkal’s stay on 40, and Holder then removed his West Indian team-mate Romario Shepherd for 17. Venkatesh Iyer contributed 12 before Arshad claimed him for his third wicket of the innings, and Josh Hazlewood was run out, leaving RCB all out for 155, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar unbeaten on 15.
“On a wicket to restrict a team like them to 155 is very nice. At times we haven’t fielded as well, but today the energy was quite high after the 2nd over,” the GT skipper said.
Gujarat’s chase began with Sai Sudharsan and Gill, but Sudharsan managed only 6 off 5 balls before departing. Gill then consolidated alongside Buttler. Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced an excellent spell, taking 3 wickets to dismantle the GT top order, while Shepherd removed Shahrukh Khan and Washington Sundar for 8 and 12 respectively.
Holder added 12 before falling to Suyash Sharma, but Rahul Tewatia held his nerve, remaining unbeaten and guiding GT past the target with 25 balls to spare, finishing on 27.
“He is a very important player for us. That was one of the conversations we had in the timeout. He got some nice runs and everyone got a hit in the middle,” Gill said lauding the southpaw.
