The Gujarat Titans (GT) are an anomaly. In a world where cricket teams adopt ultra-aggressive batting approaches, with 220 becoming the new par score, Gujarat depends on high-quality bowling and an extremely consistent top order. On paper, it should never work in a tournament like the Indian Premier League (IPL). But it does.
Gujarat has qualified for the IPL 2026 playoffs, with the same number of wins as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the reigning champions, and their opponents for the Qualifier 1 match in Dharamshala. Part of the reason Gujarat’s methods have succeeded lies in their performance at their home venue.
Do you agree with our IPL 2026 title-winning chances prediction? #IPL2026 #RCB #GT #SRH #RR #Cricket pic.twitter.com/kYkfyNAK5D
— InsideSport (@InsideSportIND) May 25, 2026RCB’s batting advantage over GT
The 2022 champions have won 5 of their 7 matches in Ahmedabad. When away from home, 4 wins from 7. On a slightly helpful surface for bowlers, you can’t stop Gujarat. They ace the 160-180 matches. However, their superpower might not be effective against RCB in Qualifier 1.
Dharamshala is a batting-friendly surface. The sample size in IPL 2026 is small, just three matches. But the average first innings is 210. The lowest score in 6 matches is 199. It’s kryptonite for Gujarat. Anything over 200, and more often than not, they are out of the game.
Then comes the fact that RCB’s batting is extremely strong. They’ve scored over 200 in 8 games. Their average run rate is 10.39, while Gujarat goes at 9.46. Assuming that 10 runs per over is par, RCB would be 8 runs ahead, and Gujarat would be 11 runs behind. It’s a major difference.
RCB & GT: Phase-wise batting stats in IPL 2026
Overs 0-6Overs 7-15Overs 16-20RCB (average/strike rate)40.10 / 159.1332.77 / 162.7029.37 / 178.27GT (average/strike rate)58.69 / 151.3936.32 / 148.9420.65 / 158.41The difference in their bowling is similarly in favour of Gujarat, who concede 8.75 runs per over compared to RCB’s 9.61. But as mentioned above, Dharamshala offers more to the batters than the bowlers. Yes, there’s early help in the powerplay, but all things considered, it’s good for batting. Plus, RCB beat the Punjab Kings in Dharamshala on May 17. So, they know how to play here.
Gujarat needs everything to fall into place. Anything over 210 is outside of their reach. In fact, they’ve chased a target of over 200 just once (204). If RCB bats first, they’ll likely score over par, which is 210 here. Gujarat will need early Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada to strike early.
Most importantly, they can’t expose their middle order. For that, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler need to bat until the 15th over. However, chasing a big target isn’t the norm for them, and unfortunately for Gujarat, chasing sides find it easier here. 201 and 211 have been hunted down here. However, one can’t underestimate them. Time and again, they’ve proven everyone wrong and can do that again on May 26.
IPL 2026, Qualifier 1: Bowling-heavy Gujarat Titans face stern test against RCB in high-scoring Dharamsala Inside Sport India.
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