Ee Salavu Cup Namde? Ruthless RCB demolish Gujarat to book a direct ticket to the finals

For 18 years, Royal Challengers Bengaluru pioneered Indian Premier League folklore. Then something shifted. Under Rajat Patidar – a first-time captain, no superstar, leading a tournament where some of the biggest names have held onto the armband – and the steady hand of veteran Andy Flower, RCB have ended one of the sport’s longest waits. Finally the first title.

But they didn’t stop there. RCB, built on a refreshing, well-constructed squad and extraordinary clarity of roles, have since morphed into something far more dangerous: an imposing side.

Cut to May 26, 2026. RCB are now just one win away from becoming only the third franchise to defend the IPL title, after reigning champions Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. Patidar’s side play with consistency, clarity and a sense of purpose so assured it feels almost surreal. Because for the longest time, none of those words were ever associated with this team.

RCB vs GT, IPL 2026 Qualifier 1: Highlights | Scorecard

RCB DEAL VIOLENCE IN DHARAMSALA

They made their case strongly in Dharamsala on Tuesday evening. RCB crushed Gujarat Titans by 92 runs to punch their ticket to Ahmedabad where they will face off in their second consecutive final. Patidar once again led from the front. A 33-ball 93, routine, now, and yet somehow hardly believable as RCB posted 254 in 20 overs. It was the highest total in the history of IPL playoffs.

Disassembly followed. The bowling line-up, galvanized by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, lit up the HPCA stadium under a crisp evening sky beneath the Dhauladhar range, while RCB fans enjoyed the mid-innings fireworks and all that followed.

It was more than a win. It was a statement. Precision and perfection – what RCB have quietly made routine in the last two seasons – on full, brilliant display once again.

RCB lost the toss. They were sent to bat on a ground where the chasing teams have won almost everything in T20 cricket. And yet their progress to the finals was inevitable from the first ball.

“The wicket looks pretty good – pretty heavy. It will go nicely with the bat and I don’t think it will change much in 40 overs. So we will try to put a good total on the board and keep them under pressure,” Patidar said at the toss. Most captains say something like that when the toss doesn’t go their way. A brave face. Standard issue. But the Patidar and his men seemed genuinely interested in continuing the talk.

In Dharamsala – a city known for its calmness – RCB deals with violence. The kind that shakes the opposition’s belief, that sends jitters down the backs of two teams waiting in Ahmedabad for their shot on Sunday.

They didn’t have Phil Salt. No problem. They have backed Venkatesh Iyer, who has given them electric starts in recent matches despite spending most of the season on the bench. Iyer responded immediately – a furious 19 off seven deliveries, panic creeping into the Gujarat titans’ camp almost immediately. GT relied heavily on their new pair of Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj to blast the opposition in the power play. On Tuesday, that plan fell apart in the first two overs. Iyer hit three boundaries off Siraj, then took Rabada for six before digging out.

Enter Devdutt Padikkal — the engine of RCB’s top order all season. He didn’t miss the delivery and settled down. Even as Virat Kohli took his time finding rhythm on a surface offering bounce and movement, Padikkal played with the kind of freedom that has defined his campaign. Rabady took charge in the fourth over, reading the pace expertly and finding the gaps with a relish that made it look unfair – two boundaries off a good length delivery, bisecting the deep backward point area to either side.

RCB were racing to 62 for 1 after five overs.

SHUBMAN GILL’S MOVE FAILS BIG

For the first time in eight matches, Gujarat were forced to break their new-ball couple during the power play. Shubman Gill turned to Jason Holder – less an attacking move, more a desperate attempt to stem the tide. It spoke volumes for the aura that Kohli and Padikkal projected at the crease. Then Kohli himself joined the carnage, unleashing a series of emphatic shots on Rabada in the final over. The mountain air was thick as intended by RCB. Even the top edge flew into the stands and almost knocked the glass of the commentary box.

76 to 1 on the power play.

Then shift.

Rashid Khan and Jason Holder put the brakes on. Only six runs came from Rashid’s first game – disciplined, purposeful bowling on a pitch where spin was always a difficult art to execute, let alone master. Then Holder struck twice in his third over. First to Kohli for 43 – a length ball in the corridor of uncertainty, chopped onto the stumps. Then Padikkal, looking to break free after a smooth 30 off 18, grabbed the edge and was pushed behind the stumps by Jos Buttler.

99 for 3 in the half. Gujarat clawed back.

Gill was making smart moves. With two new men – Patidar and Krunal Pandya – in the middle, he handed over the sixth bowling slot to Kulwant Khejroliyam, who was playing his first match of the season. A tidy tricycle. The pressure was building.

It also reached Patidar for a short time. In the 14th over, he mistimed two shots – but luck smiled on him. He fell for 14. He fell again for 20 in the same over, off Prasidh Krishna. The reverse of the green, as they say.

RCB were 140 for 3 at the end of 14.

They knew that 220 was the floor in this ballpark. So they pushed.

Gill gambled – another Kulwant, though Rashid bowled his first two in just eight overs. It’s the kind of gamble that makes the captain look like a genius when it works out. Tuesday was not Gill’s day. Kulwant was probably out at the end of the match – for all the wrong reasons. Two balls. Twenty eight runs. Crowned down. Patidar chipped in and finished with two boundaries and a six.

Then came Rashid – now pouncing on two well-set, pressure-relieved batsmen who were smelling blood. Result: 21 more runs, Krunal and Patidar send the leg-spin maestro into the stands with something approaching contempt.

140 for 3 of 14 variants. 189 for 3 for 16.

Patidar was 14 off 10 at one stage. Now he was 49 off 20.

Rabada returned in the 17th over and had Krunal caught for 43, sealing the 95-run partnership. But what could be set in motion could not be stopped. Patidar was batting like a government bus going downhill – everything in its way just had to give way. He pounced on Rabada, Siraj and Prasidh Krishna as they made 114 runs off the last six overs. He finished on 93 off 33 balls: nine sixes, five boundaries and a performance that again defied easy description. Another night where the Patidar took the game by the scruff of the neck and bent it to his will – unaided, fearlessly, inevitably.

It blew away Gujarat Titans, a side that looked so assured on Tuesday. RCB took it to the next final. And it sent a message—loud, clear, unmistakable—to the pursuing pack.

Only a team playing with more freedom, planning with greater precision, armed with greater role clarity and equally formal match-winners can stop RCB on Sunday. Looking at the form of every team left in this tournament, it’s really hard to see who that could be.

Ee Saala Vu (also) Cup Namde?

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

26 May 2026 23:52 IST