The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have won the toss and opted to bowl first against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat. RCB have made no changes, while GT have brought in Arshad Khan for Sai Kishore.
Why did RCB choose to bowl first in IPL 2026 final?
RCB captain Rajat Patidar chose to bowl first as he believes the pitch won’t change much. Therefore, chasing will be an advantage. “We’ll bowl first. It’s a pretty good wicket. Don’t think it’ll change much,” Patidar said after winning the toss.
GT captain Shubman Gill has no issue with RCB opting to bowl first. He wanted to bat anyway. Gill expects the surface to aid fast bowlers early. He and Sai Sudharsan will have to be wary of the conditions in the powerplay. “We would have batted first. Typical wicket, the third match we are playing here (on pitch number 6). There could be some movement for the fast bowlers in the first three overs,” Gill told Ravi Shastri.
RCB vs GT final: Playing XIs & Impact Subs
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar
- Impact Subs: Venkatesh Iyer, Kanishk Chohan, Swapnil Singh, Abhinandan Singh, Jordan Cox
Gujarat Titans: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Arshad Khan, Mohammed Siraj
- Impact Subs: Prasidh Krishna, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Kumar Kushagra, Sai Kishore
Narendra Modi Stadium Pitch Report
First of all, the IPL 2026 final will be played on pitch number 6, mixed soil. It’s the same surface used for the league-stage match between GT and RCB. That game saw Bengaluru getting bundled out for 155. However, it’s also the pitch where India posted 255 against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup 2026 final. It’s expected that batters will be at an advantage.
Although GT has played a few sub-200 games at home this season, the average first innings total at the Narendra Modi Stadium since IPL 2025 is 203, and 11 of the 16 matches have been won by sides batting first.
IPL record at Narendra Modi Stadium after winning the toss
Winning or losing the toss in Gujarat has a negligible impact on the outcome of the match. Similarly, batting first or chasing bodes equally well.
| Total Matches | Matches Won after Winning Toss | Matches Lost after Winning Toss | Matches Won Batting First | Matches Won Batting Second |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | 23 (45.10%) | 28 (54.90%) | 26 (50.98%) | 25 (49.02%) |
RCB vs GT final: Who has the advantage?
Bengaluru has a better batting unit. Despite having just one batter in the top 10 highest scorers, Virat Kohli, RCB have chased down 200+ targets twice in IPL 2026. At different stages, Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Venkatesh Iyer, Rajat Patidar, Krunal Pandya and Tim David have won matches for them. One can’t say that for GT, who rely heavily on their top three of Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler.
In contrast, GT’s bowling is much stronger. Despite underutilising their bowling, they manage to outbowl the opposition. Although the pitch won’t be tailor-made for them, it’s still their home. If they get RCB to bat first and roll them out under or around par, GT have a great chance of victory.
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