CHENNAI: A ava de Ahmedabad, we have the biggest spectacle on our cards, the Indian Premier League 2026 final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans on Sunday. While Ahmedabad might be the Titans’ home venue, don’t forget it is the very same place where RCB broke its long wait to lift their maiden IPL trophy, kick-starting the Rajat Patidar-era.
Under his captaincy, RCB has played an exciting brand of cricket—both as a batting unit and a bowling unit. Patidar hasn’t shied away from taking some bold calls, and the team has been quite impressive in terms of the balance. While some might have criticised Virat Kohli earlier in the decade for still playing an old brand of T20 cricket, he has certainly transformed himself to the needs of the modern-day, smashing 600 runs at a strike rate of 164.38, which is a +20 boost from last campaign.
Even the absence of Phil Salt, one of their best batters in the title-winning campaign, did not really hamper the side, as it found an able replacement in Venkatesh Iyer, with the left-hander scoring 44 and 19 in two games at the top of the order. Romario Shepherd’s dipping form didn’t really concern it so much, as the franchise brought in Jacob Duffy, who forms a great new-ball pair alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood. Not to forget Patidar, who swung the momentum of the Qualifier 1, with his 33-ball 93, laced with five fours and nine sixes.
Gujarat too has made a few tweaks to their winning formula, bringing in Sai Kishore to its setup, with the left-arm spinner an unused bowling option in its win against Rajasthan Royals. But a lot of emphasis still lies on the shoulders of Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill, who are the second-best pair in the IPL history. Together, they have amassed 2944 runs, only behind AB de Villiers and Kohli as a pair, with 11 100-run stands and 11 50-run stands at the top of the order. A lot of eyes, though, will be on Gujarat’s bowling unit, which failed to take its opportunity in the Qualifier 1 clash against RCB, letting the defending champions get past 250run mark—the highest-ever total in IPL playoffs. Will that bowling unit find a new way to overcome the RCB batting juggernaut?
“I think it’s all about getting the job done, isn’t it? Like, it doesn’t matter how you get it done, as long as you keep getting the job done, that is what it’s about,” Gill had a very different way of looking at the final.
On the other hand, RCB skipper Patidar said “Yes, because after the Qualifier 1, we got enough time to rest, recover. And at the same time, GT is coming straight after the Qualifier 2. So there will be some sort of advantage, but not that much. Because both the teams are pretty good and played really good cricket. Every captain wants to win trophies. But I never change myself because it’s important to be yourself. That’s what I’ve focused on. Even if I’m a captain, it doesn’t mean I have to do anything different,” he further added about his style of leadership.
Sunday brings about another opportunity to Gill, and Titans to re-establish their credentials but rest assured, RCB are here to attack its title and continue the merry year for teams in red.
98 runs, an average of 33.25 and a SR of 171.98 in the last two Indian Premier seasons, and yet funnily enough, not a single game for India in the shortest format. Rajat Patidar’s last two years have been quite ironical, for a batter who has absolutely torn down all the metrics in the middle-overs, especially against spin, Patidar is yet to make his debut in the shortest format.
But that wait could end in a few months, as his 2026 season shows why he’s truly been a game-changer for the Men in Red and Gold. Before Vaibhav Sooryavanshi came and tore up the six-hitting charts in the season, Patidar was making the ball fly to all parts of the ground, with his pyro technique.
The RCB skipper has smashed 41 sixes in the season, and has played quite an underrated role with the bat for the franchise. But what he did in Qualifier 1 will go down as one of the best knocks under pressure. What’s the most incredible part about that innings wasn’t just the six-hitting fiesta or the gap-finding accuracy; it was how he flipped the switch instantly, and levelled up his game against one of the best bowling units in this year’s competition.
Patidar’s unbeaten 93 off 33 balls is surely a knock to remember but the fact that he’s been doing it consistently warrants him a place in the Indian T20 setup. The big question though, is whether he will lead the Men in Blue, as he can more than handle pressure, remaining the only skipper to lead RCB to an IPL title, not Kohli or other stalwarts.
Shubman Gill is already India’s Test and ODI skipper, so what’s really stopping him from becoming the T20I skipper? His intent. Since his return to India’s T20I scheme of things, the one thing that was a common constant was why is Gill still part of the 20-over setup when he isn’t as explosive as Sanju Samson or Ishan Kishan.
Turns out, he’s now answering those criticisms loud and clear. Gill has come out in a whole new avatar this season, evident from the swashbuckling season he’s having at the top of the unit for the Titans. While his partnership with Sai Sudharsan is exemplary, Gill’s own form has been quite the talking point of the town. After his seven-ball two against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1, it seemed like Gill was back to his old ways again. But come the must-win clash against Rajasthan Royals, he transformed himself into a beast, smashing a century off just 47 balls when his side was chasing 215 for a place in the final.
“I was in the kind of zone where I was just looking at the gaps and the bowler and see my zone and try to hit it there. That’s what happens when you’re batting well, you see the gaps and middle it,” Gill said after his knock against the Royals.
Not just that clash, to be fair, Gill has been in that zone since the start of this year’s tournament, with 722 runs in the season, striking at 163.71—his best-ever strike rate in a single edition of the competition. All that he has to do now is back that up against a strong RCB unit in the final.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar is 36, and when the Royal Challengers Bengaluru signed him at the age of 34, it drew a lot of flak. The right-arm seamer had picked up just 11 wickets for Sunrisers Hyderabad, and was averaging close to 50, which led to people calling him ‘finished’. RCB, though, not just signed him but had a solid plan, as the 36-year-old has been one of the best bowlers for the franchise over the last two years— with 43 scalps. While his 2025 season had already established his comeback at the top, the 2026 season now has made him turn heads. It isn’t just his wicket-taking ability that is back (26 wickets) but his ability to do all the things that made people rave about him. If in the clash against Delhi Capitals, he made the new ball talk, in the others under pressure, the right-arm seamer bowled excellent yorkers and cutters to seal the game for his side.
“Everyone knows what a worldclass bowler he is and the skills he possesses. Every bowler has their own strengths and teams plan according to that. At the death as well, he has been using his variations effectively. It depends on which phase he is operating in,” said Salvi.
In the day and age where bowlers are going for plenty, Bhuvneshwar’s IPL 2026 campaign might go down as an all-time best, given he’s picked up so many wickets at an average of 18.15, and an economy rate of 8.00. He’s done it once, can he help RCB defend its IPL title?
A year ago, Kagiso Rabada’s life was upside down, with the pacer serving a onemonth suspension after testing positive for cocaine, a recreational drug. When a cricketer at his peak gets caught in something like this, it can really push to the lowest of lows. Later on, at the 2026 T20 World Cup event in India, Rabada’s form was also seen dipping, with just five wickets, averaging a low 43.40. It was that moment when everyone had written the Proteas gun down, and it
seemed like the writing too was on the wall. But then came the 2026 Indian Premier League, and it flipped everything for the South African pacer, who was now enjoying every moment with the ball. Slowly yet steadily, Rabada has risen up the wickets chart, scalping 28 wickets in the ongoing edition, averaging 20.78, showing why form is temporary, class is permanent. Even in the Qualifier 2 clash against Rajasthan Royals, the pacer showed his prowess, picking up the dangerous looking Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, a battle that was quite fascinating. The South African pacer will also be looking to break his own personal best of 30 wickets in an IPL season, needing just two to equal and three to break.
But Rabada’s challenge will now be bigger, as he will be up against Virat Kohli, who had a wood over him in the previous meeting between the two sides, with three fours and a six. With the match to be played in Ahmedabad, and at a venue that has supported good pace bowling, Rabada will be licking his lips, and be readying his tricks. If he fires, rest assured that the Titans will be lifting its second title in four years, a massive feat which will put them amongst one of the dynasties in IPL.