Dharamshala, May 26 (IANS) Gujarat Titans (GT) have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala on Tuesday.

GT have made one change, as Kulwant Khejrolia will come in for Arshad Khan. RCB has also made one change: Jacob Duffy is back in place of Romario Shepherd.

As per the IPL format, the top two teams in the standings qualify for Qualifier 1, and the winner of the match will directly enter the final, while the losing team will get another opportunity through Qualifier 2.

After winning the toss, Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill said, “We’re 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’s 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’ve played a lot here in the under-14 and under-16 days. I’ve spent quite a bit of time here, so yeah, hopefully it’s 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,” he added.

While after losing the toss, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar said, “I think, to be honest, the wicket looks pretty good. It’s pretty hard. It will come nicely on the bat, so I think it will not change in 40 overs. So we’ll try to put a good total on the board and keep them under pressure. I think the first qualifier game is, I think it’s 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’ll give our best in this game.”

“I think we’ve 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’s pretty hard. There’s no grass cover on it, I think so. It will be nice to bat on,” he added.

RCB and GT finished first and second in the points table, respectively, with 18 points each and separated only by net run rate. They have tied 1-1 head-to-head this season and 4-4 overall.

Table topper RCB’s one of the five defeats has come against GT, whose solid bowling unit troubled them. But the reigning champions turned the tables and avenged their loss in the reverse fixture.

Both franchises are in pursuit of their second IPL silverware. While the defending champions RCB aim to secure back-to-back titles, GT are determined to reclaim the championship glory they first achieved during their debut season in 2022.

Playing XIs:

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

Impact substitutes: Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Kanishk Chauhan, Abhinandan, Jordan Cox.

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

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

–IANS

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