IPL 2026, Qualifier 1: GT win toss, elect to field first against RCB

DHARMSALA (Himachal Pradesh): Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to field first against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Qualifier One clash at Dharamsala on Tuesday.

The winner of this clash will earn a direct qualification to the final, while the loser will play the winner of the eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier two for the second spot. RCB head into the match as table-toppers, with nine wins and five losses, giving them 18 points. GT ended the league stage in second spot, with the same win-loss and points.

2⃣ contenders
1⃣ spot in the final up for grabs

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For the Gujarat Titans, left-armer Kulwant Khejroliya comes in, while Arshad Khan goes out. RCB will continue with the opening combination of Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer, used during the final league stage game against SRH, with English batter Phil Salt, who rejoined the squad after sustaining a finger injury, continuing to sit out, waiting for full match fitness.

GT skipper Shubman Gill said during the toss, “We are gonna bowl first. It looks like a good wicket, you know, but we have seen, and in this ground particularly, there is a bit of dew in the second inning, so it is always good to have a total on the board and a big win and then try to chase it down. I think, this match is all about taking the equation out of the game. We have been playing some really good cricket and hopefully we’ll continue to do so. I have played a lot here in the under-14 under 16 days. I have spent quite a bit of time here, hopefully it is gonna be a good use of us. And yes, it is one of the prettiest grounds in the world. We have one change. Kulwant comes in place of Arshad Khan.”

RCB skipper Rajat Patidar said, “I think, to be honest, the wicket looks pretty good. It is pretty hard. It will come nicely on the bat, so I think it will not change in 40 overs. So we will try to put a good total on the board and keep them under pressure. I think the first qualifier game is, I think it is a nice game to go straight to the final after winning this game, but we are just taking this one game at a time. We will give our best in this game. I think we have played good cricket and we are just focusing more on our strength, rather than focusing more on the opposition. So yeah, focusing more on the strength is our motto this year. I think the surface looks pretty good. It is pretty hard. There is no grass cover on it, I think so. It will be nice to bat on.”

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

GT Impact subs: Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Kumar Kushagra, Sai Kishore

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Venkatesh Iyer, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar

RCB Impact subs: Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Kanishk Chouhan, Abhinandan Singh, Jordan Cox. (ANI)