In match no.71, which was Qualifier 1 of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala. While chasing a mammoth total of 256 runs, Shubman Gill was dismissed early in the game. The GT captain struggled to score in a crucial clash
Shubman Gill was bamboozled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The RCB pacer once again picked a wicket in the power play. This was his 14th in the power play for the India speedster, he has come back strong after being out of the national side, and he has been asking questions to every international cricketer this season.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar cleans up Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill went back for 2 runs off 7 deliveries on a wicket that had so much for the batters. The GT captain will be furious with himself, as the incident happened on the first ball of the third over.
The ball was pitched up and nipped back into the opener, as the pressure of the big run-chase made Gill try to play the shot across the line, and he completely missed it, and the ball crashed into the middle stump.
A superb first over kept him quiet, and Bhuvneshwar has sent him packing in his second. After this wicket, he dismissed Gill 7 times in 15 innings. Across their T20 encounters, Gill has scored 80 runs off 79 deliveries, averaging just 13.33.
The GT batting order has completely crumbled after the wickets of their two openers, Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill. They lost half the side inside the power play as Jos Buttler was the leading scorer with 29 runs, who counterattacked the RCB bowlers, but he was sent packing by Josh Hazlewood. As the top order crumbled, GT’s weakness in the middle order was exposed badly.
GT are seven down as they are far away from the run chase, and nearly lost the game. Rahul Tewatia is the only batter who is at the crease with the tailenders to come in the match next. RCB will be in the final for the second time and will have the chance to defend their trophy after finishing as champions last season.
Putting in bat first, Venkatesh Iyer’s impactful knock of 19 runs off 7 deliveries gave the reigning champions. Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal kept the runs flowing and stitched a partnership of 72 runs. The former scored 43 runs, and Padikkal was out on 30 runs.
Rajat Patidar stood tall along with Krunal Pandya. The two batters scored 95 runs between them before the Southpaw was dismissed on 43 runs. Patidar missed his well deserved hundred on the night and was unbeaten on the score of 93 runs off 33 deliveries and broke some record
Also Read: Rajat Patidar and Royal Challengers Bengaluru rewrite IPL playoff history in Qualifier 1 vs GT
