Kagiso Rabada etched his name into IPL history on Tuesday (May 26) by becoming the first player ever to claim 25 wickets in an IPL season on three separate occasions. Representing the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026, Rabada reached the milestone during the Qualifier 1 clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Dharamsala. Needing just one wicket to get there, he struck on the final delivery of his opening over by removing Venkatesh Iyer.
Rabada now sits at the top of the Purple Cap standings with 25 wickets from 15 matches this season, one ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar of RCB.
This is not the first time the South African pacer has crossed the 25-wicket mark in an IPL campaign. He previously achieved the feat for the Delhi Capitals in 2019, when he took 25 wickets in just 12 matches and followed it up with a 30-wicket season in 2020 under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer across 17 games.
Rabada has also become the first bowler in IPL history to register 25-wicket seasons for more than one franchise.
Earlier in the match, Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bowl first. RCB made a notable change at the top, with Venkatesh Iyer replacing Phil Salt to open alongside Virat Kohli, while Devdutt Padikkal retained his number three position. Jacob Duffy was also included for the crucial clash.
Gujarat Titans, meanwhile, named left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya in their playing XI.
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Playing XIs
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 and Prasidh Krishna
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 and Rasikh Salam Dar

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