Indian Premier League: Royal Challengers Bengaluru to Face Gujarat Titans in 2026 IPL Final

RCB Eye Back-to-Back IPL Titles Against GT in Ahmedabad

Ten teams kicked off the season hoping to lift the title, but now only two remain, as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans prepare to lock horns in the 2026 Indian Premier League final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad this afternoon. 

RCB brought an end to their long wait by beating the Punjab Kings to win their first IPL title last season. They are now looking to become only the third team to defend their crown after the Chennai Super Kings (2010 and 2011) and the Mumbai Indians (2019 and 2020). 

As explained in our Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans prediction, the reigning champions are the favourites in this clash, having ended the group stage of the competition at the top of the table before beating the Titans by 92 runs in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday. 

Despite that hefty defeat, the Gujarat Titans bounced back incredibly in the Eliminator on Friday evening, successfully chasing down a target of 214/6 in 18.4 overs to send the Rajasthan Royals crashing out of the competition at the penultimate hurdle. 

GT finished second in the group stage, level on 18 points with RCB, but with a slightly worse net run rate. The Gujarat side only joined the IPL under their current banner in 2022 and won the title in the debut season before finishing as runners-up to CSK the following year. 

While RCB came out on top in Qualifier 1, GT cannot be ruled out of this clash entirely. They beat the champions in their second encounter during the group stage by four wickets on April 30, and will be more match-ready, having played on Friday, while RCB last played almost a week ago. 

See our 2026 IPL predictions 

Orange and Purple Cap Race Going Down to the Wire 

Beyond the 2026 IPL title, the race for individual accolades is also set to go down to the final day, with Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsen and Virat Kohli still in the running to end this season with the coveted Orange Cap.

In fairness, though, it will take a very unexpected sequence of events for King Kohli to finish as the leading run-scorer. He enters the final in sixth place in the standings with 600 runs in 15 innings, 110 runs behind the top three run-getters in the competition. 

Gill was the star of the show on Friday, as his stunning knock of 104 off just 53 deliveries took him to 722 runs and second place in the standings. He overtook his teammate Sudharsan, who also delivered an impressive knock of 58 runs from 32 deliveries. 

As it stands, 15-year-old starlet Vaibhav Sooryavanshi still sits at the summit with 776 runs in 16 innings. Therefore, Gill will need a score in excess of 54 runs to surpass the teenage sensation, while Sudharsan will need at least 67 to take top spot, provided he scores 13 more runs than Gill in the match. 

Over to the bowlers, and it is a straight two-way shootout for the leading wicket-taker accolade. Heading into the final, it is Kagiso Rabada who dons the Purple Cap with 28 wickets after another impressive performance on Friday, when he picked up 2/35 against RR. 

However, hot on the heels of the South African speedster is RCB’s veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is on 26 wickets, just two shy of the current leader. He also made history this season by becoming the first Indian player to take 25+ IPL wickets for two different franchises in a single season. 

Technically, Rashid Khan and Mohammed Siraj are still in the picture, but with 19 and 18 wickets to date, respectively, they will need to take all 10 RCB wickets on Sunday to overtake the top two in the Purple Cap standings. 

Check out our RCB vs GT prediction