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Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) produced one of the most dominant performances of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season after dismantling Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier 1 to storm into their second successive final.
While the massive 92-run win grabbed headlines, RCB director of cricket Mo Bobat later revealed that the team had entered the contest with a clear tactical plan aimed at dragging GT out of their comfort zone.
According to Bobat, RCB knew they could not afford to play safe against a Gujarat side that had built a reputation for comfortably chasing down totals throughout the tournament.
Mo Bobat reveals RCB intentionally put GT under pressure
Mo Bobat admitted that RCB deliberately chose an ultra-aggressive approach against Gujarat Titans in order to break their rhythm and force them away from their tried-and-tested plans.
"We kind of put ourselves under a little bit of healthy pressure and said, ‘We need to try and take the game beyond them if we can’," Bobat explained.
RCB’s strategy revolved around attacking from the very first ball, fully aware of the threat posed by GT’s formidable top order featuring Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan.
The duo had already stitched together over 700 runs as an opening pair this season and had made several difficult run chases look effortless.
"We had aggressive intent from ball one, mainly out of respect for the opposition. We know how good a team they are and the quality of their top order. We wanted to push the game beyond them as best we could," Bobat added.
RCB’s explosive start forced Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill to abandon his usual bowling plans very early in the innings.
Despite GT possessing the best powerplay bowling numbers this season, Gill was forced to introduce all-rounder Jason Holder inside the fifth over after RCB’s top order launched a brutal assault.
Bobat also revealed that RCB’s playing combination was specifically designed to give them flexibility through the impact player rule, even if it meant sacrificing batting depth.
The move eventually worked perfectly as RCB completely disrupted GT mentally and tactically.
RCB completely dominate GT to storm into IPL 2026 final
RCB’s aggressive blueprint paid off spectacularly as the defending champions piled up a mammoth 254/5 in their 20 overs.
Virat Kohli provided the early momentum with a quickfire 43 off 25 balls, while skipper Rajat Patidar completely took the game away from GT with a sensational unbeaten 93 off just 33 deliveries.
Krunal Pandya added 43 off 28 balls, while Devdutt Padikkal and Jitesh Sharma also chipped in with valuable cameos.
GT’s fielding errors further hurt them badly as Rajat Patidar was dropped twice in the same over before he punished the Gujarat bowlers brutally.
Chasing a daunting target, Gujarat Titans completely crumbled under pressure.
RCB’s bowlers dismantled the top order early as GT lost five wickets inside the powerplay for the first time this season.
Only Rahul Tewatia showed some resistance with a fighting 68 off 43 balls, but the rest of the batting lineup failed to respond.
Jacob Duffy starred with three wickets, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up two wickets and reclaimed the Purple Cap.
Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar and Krunal Pandya also chipped in with important breakthroughs as GT were bundled out well short of the target.
With the commanding victory, RCB sealed a direct spot in the IPL 2026 final and moved one step closer towards successfully defending their title.
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