Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar had told reporters ahead of the IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 against the Gujarat Titans at the HPCA Stadium here that he was wrongly being typecast as a spin-hitter. Patidar reckoned his timing and shots were more suited to attacking the pacers. The 32-year-old provided a devastating glimpse of that with an unbeaten, counter-attacking 33-ball 93 that helped his side earn a commanding 92-run win on Tuesday and qualify for a second consecutive final.

Chasing RCB’s mammoth total of 254 for five, the highest score ever in an IPL playoff encounter, the Titans could only huff and puff to 162, crumbling against the opponent’s frontline pace attack.

Setting the tone

After being asked to bat first, Venkatesh Iyer set the ball rolling with three boundaries in the first over. Virat Kohli found the going a lot tougher against Kagiso Rabada’s short-of-a-length barrage, which eventually helped the South African pacer induce a miscue from Venkatesh and get the opening breakthrough. Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal ensured the wicket didn’t stem the flow of runs, finding the gaps regularly to take RCB to 76 for one at the end of the PowerPlay, but the momentum swung when Jason Holder removed both the batters in a space of three balls.

After seeing out Holder’s spell, the introduction of the fifth bowler allowed Patidar and Krunal Pandya to play themselves in.

The Titans did not help their cause, committing a few errors on the field, including Patidar’s dropped catch. The 95-run association between the pair gave the side the impetus it needed to accelerate at the death as the skipper and Jitesh Sharma finished on a high.

Unfortunate dismissal

After a prolonged delay due to a light show organised for the fans, GT suffered an unfortunate early setback when B. Sai Sudharsan was dismissed hit wicket after playing a crisp square cut.

Captain Shubman Gill, too, didn’t trouble the scorers much, undone by a length ball that moved in from Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

For a side that relies heavily on the opening pair, the writing was on the wall early, and the middle-order, minus Rahul Tewatia, could do nothing to prevent the inevitable.