Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT) will face each other in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 final on Sunday, May 31, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Both these teams were on top of the points table at the end of the league stage. It is safe to call them the top two teams this season, as they have been performing consistently and making fewer mistakes than their competitors.
Former South African captain and RCB legend AB de Villiers was selected Rajat Patidar To win the Player of the Match award in the final. The cricketer-turned-specialist also backed the RCB skipper to score runs at a strike rate of over 200.
Patidar won the Player of the Match award in Qualifier 1, which was played against Gujarat Titans at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on Tuesday. The right-handed batsman scored 93* runs in 33 balls with the help of five fours and nine sixes. The defending champions scored 254/5 with their blitzkrieg and bowled out Titans for 162 runs.
De Villiers also predicted a solid half-century for his former RCB teammate and close friend Virat Kohli. The former India and RCB captain has scored five half-centuries this season. He also has a century to his name, which he scored against Kolkata Knight Riders. In IPL 2026, Kohli has scored 600 runs in 15 innings at an average of 50 and strike rate of 164.39.
During de Villiers' final prediction for the summit clash, the 42-year-old said Rashid Khan would have an off-day, giving away runs at an economy rate of over 10. The Afghanistan spinner conceded 29 runs in three overs and went without any wicket when these two teams faced each other in Qualifier 1. However, things went from bad to worse for the Nangarhar-born player in Qualifier 2 as he conceded 45 runs in his two overs against Rajasthan Royals. Rashid has faced the heat and the cold this season, taking 19 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 25.84 and an economy rate of 9.29.
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