RCB on the verge of becoming champions for the second consecutive time; Patidar warriors gear up to join the ranks of Chennai and Mumbai RCB reached the final by defeating Gujarat by 92 runs in the first qualifier; Hopes of becoming champion for the second consecutive time are high

A very big and pleasant news has come for the fans of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). In the first qualifier match of IPL 2026 played at the beautiful Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala, RCB defeated Gujarat Titans by a huge margin of 92 runs and directly secured their place in the final. With this resounding victory, RCB has become the first team to reach the finals of this season.

The RCB team, playing under the brilliant captaincy of Rajat Patidar, will now play the final match on Sunday, 31 May 2026 at the prestigious Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. In the title clash, RCB will face either Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad or Rajasthan Royals, which will be decided by the upcoming playoff matches.

What do the victory figures say? 80% of the time the winner of Qualifier 1 becomes the king.

If we look at the old history and statistics of IPL, at this time RCB seems to be the strongest contender to win the title. According to historical data, the team that wins the first qualifier has an 80 percent chance of becoming champion.

• What does the trend say? Ever since the playoff system was introduced in the IPL in 2011, there have been 12 out of 15 seasons when the team that won Qualifier 1 (Q1) has captured the trophy. This also includes the record of the last seven consecutive seasons.

• When did the exception occur? The last feat of winning the Qualifier 2 (Q2) and winning the final title was in the year 2017. Before last season’s title win, this Patidar-led team did not have a single trophy, but now RCB is very close to becoming the third team after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) to successfully defend their title.

Will RCB and Gujarat face each other again in the final?

There is also a strong discussion in the circles of cricket whether the final will once again see a battle between RCB and Gujarat Titans. If history repeats itself, it is highly likely to happen. This has happened only three times in the history of IPL when two teams playing Qualifier 1 have not met again in the final, and the last time this happened nine years ago in 2017.

Furthermore, Sunrisers Hyderabad (in 2016) and Mumbai Indians (in 2013) have been the only two teams to lift the trophy after going the long way through the Eliminator or Qualifier 2. Now after the defeat in the first qualifier, the Gujarat Titans team will move to New Chandigarh for its next challenge, where the big match of Qualifier 2 is to be played on Friday, 29 May 2026.

Amidst the celebration of victory, this dreadful record of 2016 is scaring RCB

Even though the statistics seem to be 80% tilted in favor of RCB, there is one record that can strike a little fear in the minds of Bengaluru fans. In the history of IPL, RCB has been one of the three unlucky teams that have lost the final despite winning Qualifier 1.

In that memorable season of 2016, Sunrisers Hyderabad made a strong comeback after losing in the first qualifier and won the trophy by defeating RCB in the final. Interestingly, that was the only time in IPL history when a team playing the eliminator won the final. See an amazing coincidence that this time also Sunrisers Hyderabad team is going to play the eliminator and RCB has already booked the ticket for the final. Now it remains to be seen whether history repeats itself or RCB creates a new record.