The Gujarat Titans (GT) secured a comfortable four-wicket win over the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Match 42 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Thursday, April 30.
Whilst batting first, RCB did not have the best of times with the bat, compared to some of their other innings this season. The defending champions scored 155 before losing all 10 of their wickets. Devdutt Padikkal was the highest scorer, hitting 40 runs off 24 balls. Arshad Khan was the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets.
In reply, GT chased down the total with more than four overs to spare. The 2022 champions were provided with an excellent start thanks to their captain, Shubman Gill, with healthy contributions from Jos Buttler (39) and Rahul Tewatia (27 not out) towards the end to make sure their side got the two points.
Talking Points:
1. Was Jason Holder in complete control?
West Indies’ Jason Holder took a brilliant catch to get the wicket of RCB captain Rajat Patidar off the bowling of Arshad Khan. However, whilst sliding on the ground, Holder had the ball in his hand touch the ground, which caused a lot of tension amongst the RCB camp, with the defending champions seeking clarity on the situation at hand. The all-rounder had an excellent time in the first innings, taking three catches and two wickets.
2. Do GT have an outside chance for the playoffs?
Following their win against RCB in Ahmedabad, GT now have 10 points to their name after nine matches played in the 2026 IPL. They are now in touching distance of the top four, just two points behind the three sides above them in the points table. Should they get a few more wins under their belt in the coming games, they could make an unexpected entry into the playoffs.
3. Shubman Gill is leading GT by example
Every team in the IPL has an opener capable of scoring at a strike-rate of well above 200 to give their side a quick start. For GT, however, that player is not a slogger but is instead someone who scores quickly with proper cricketing shots. Against RCB, Gill scored 43 off just 17 balls at a strike-rate of 238.89. He even scored 24 runs in one over from Josh Hazlewood to tip the game in GT’s favour from the get-go.
Who said what:
Rajat Patidar, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain:
“I think the score was not good enough, but I think the way we bowled and stretched it to 15, 16 overs, I think that’s a positive sign for us. (The pitch had something for the bowlers there)? Definitely, there’s a good cover of the grass on the surface that helped fast bowlers. And as I said, I think the way Shubman played, I think he played beautifully in the power play. And he put the pressure on us, but the way we came back and stretched till 16th over, I think that’s a positive. (What were the learnings from this experience?) I think it’s pretty clear. I think we gave a lot of wickets in the middle and that kept us on the back seat. (The positive sign is that you just gave the purple cap to Bhuvaneshwar Kumar?) As we all know, I think he’s an experienced bowler of T20 format and the way he bowled in the first half, I think that is incredible. But I think it’s a long way and we’ll take one game at a time. There’s bound to be a hiccup on the way. (You’re still very well placed on the table?) Definitely, but we are not looking at it on the table, our aim is to play a good cricket.”
Shubman Gill, Gujarat Titans captain:
“Feels very satisfying. On a wicket to restrict a team like them to 155 is very nice. At times we haven’t fielded as well, but today the energy was quite high after the 2nd over. I was just feeling I was in the zone. First ball I got a bit lucky and then I thought today was my day. I was confident of taking the bowling on. (on Tewatia) He is a very important player for us. That was one of the conversations we had in the timeout. He got some nice runs and everyone got a hit in the middle.”
Jason Holder, Player of the Match:
“It was one of those nights. The energy was quite high and credit to KG and Siraj for bowling in the powerplay that well. I did see him, hoping I didn’t run into him. I had an eye on him. My biggest thing was to get there. I welcome it as it comes. Just happy to hold on to the chances and happy to help the team win. The way this franchise operates is very nice. It’s about having an open mind and being switched on and being able to execute.”
