Royal Challengers Bangalore Gujarat will take on Titans in Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League 2026 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on Tuesday, May 26.
The defending champions topped the table with 18 points from 14 games. They lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in a poor rubber contest, which did not significantly impact their playoff spot. They would like to seal their place in the final with a win soon, which will give them time to regroup before the big match. They have faced the Titans twice this season, winning once and losing once.
Here is RCB's strongest predicted XI for the Qualifier vs GT:
Top order: Venkatesh Iyer/Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal,
Virat Kohli He has once again been the defending champions' most prolific batsman in the season. The charismatic batsman has scored 557 runs at a strike rate of 163.82. He has changed his bowling template from the start and is striking at 165.3 in the first six overs, the highest score of his IPL career. He has scored four half-centuries and one century this season. Who was his partner that day is still a matter of debate. Venkatesh Iyer performed reliably for RCB and played a blistering inning of 44 runs in 19 balls at the top of the order against SRH. He will be expected to retain this position given Phil Salt has not yet been cleared to play. Salt scored 202 runs at a strike rate of 168.33, but missed the latter half of the season due to a finger injury.
Devdutt Padikkal has been one of the best players in IPL 2026. The hometown southpaw has scored 433 runs at a blistering strike rate of 171.82, which has seen his game against pace and spin improve significantly. He has looked in great form throughout the season, with beautiful strokes as he has dominated spinners and pacers alike. He has scored three half-centuries and is continuously present at number 3.
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