The Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Gujarat Titans are thirty minutes away from the first ball of the 2026 Indian Premier League Final. The championship match is scheduled to start at 7:30 PM IST on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Bengaluru enters hostile territory looking to defend their 2025 title, while Gujarat aims for their second trophy in five years in front of their home crowd.
Bengaluru carries serious momentum into the stadium tonight. They already dismantled Gujarat earlier this week, putting up a playoff record 254 for 5 to secure a 92-run victory in Qualifier 1. Gujarat took the harder path to the final, rebounding to chase down the Rajasthan Royals’ 214 runs in Qualifier 2. The Royals entered that match completely exhausted from an intense eliminator round, but Gujarat capitalized with a measured batting approach to book their third finals appearance.
Tonight’s matchup relies on two very different offensive strategies. Virat Kohli anchors the RCB lineup with 600 runs on the season, feeding an aggressive power-hitting core. Gujarat counters with heavy top-order production from Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan, who have scored 722 and 710 runs respectively. In the bowling department, the tournament’s top individual award is also on the line. Gujarat’s Kagiso Rabada sits at 28 wickets, directly competing against Bengaluru’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar at 26 wickets for the Purple Cap.
The two franchises have played nine times in IPL history, with Bengaluru holding a narrow 5-4 historical edge. They met three times this season alone, with RCB taking two of those games. The Narendra Modi Stadium is technically Gujarat’s home field, but Bengaluru won their maiden IPL championship in this exact building last year to end an 18-year drought. A win tonight would put RCB captain Rajat Patidar in a highly exclusive group, joining MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma as the only captains in tournament history to successfully defend an IPL title.