Gujarat Titans (GT) won the toss and chose to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the crucial Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 Qualifier 1 clash at the Dharamsala on May 26. Meanwhile, suspense over Phil Salt finally ended as he was found missing in RCB's playing XI.
What did the captains say at the toss?
GT captain Shubman Gill, after winning the toss, 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, 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 in place of Arshad Khan."
Meanwhile, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar, after losing the toss, said:
"Rajat Patidar: 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 in 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.."
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI):
Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Gujarat Titans Impact subs: Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Kumar Kushagra, Sai Kishore
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI):
Venkatesh Iyer, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact subs: Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Kanishk Chouhan, Abhinandan Singh, Jordan Cox