Qualifier 1 IPL 2026: GT captain Gill bowls first against RCB at ‘world’s prettiest ground’

Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bowl first against the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), during the Qualifier 1 of IPL 2026 at ‘world’s prettiest ground’ – the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala on Tuesday (May 26). While Phil Salt misses out on selection, as Venkatesh Iyer was picked to open alongside icon Virat Kohli, with Devdutt Padikkal retaining the number three spot, RCB brought in Jacob Duffy for this crucial fixture. GT, on the other hand, included left-arm seamer Kulwant Khejroliya in their XI.

Check out the team sheets –

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

Here’s what the two captains said at the toss,

Shubman Gill, GT captain – “We're gonna bowl first. It looks like a good wicket, you know, but we have seen, and in this ground particularly, there is a bit of dew in the second innings, so it's always good to have a total on the board and a big win and then try to chase it down.

“I think this match is all about taking the equation out of the game. We have been playing some really good cricket, and hopefully we'll continue to do so. And yes, it is one of the prettiest grounds in the world. We have one change. Kulwant comes in place of Arshad Khan.”

Rajat Patidar, RCB captain – “I think, to be honest, the wicket looks pretty good. It's pretty hard. It will come nicely on the bat, so I think it will not change in 40 overs. So, we'll try to put a good total on the board and keep them under pressure. I think it's a nice game to go straight to the final after winning this game, but we are just taking this one game at a time. We'll give our best in this game.

“I think we've played good cricket and we are just focusing more on our strength, rather than focusing more on the opposition. So yeah, focusing more on the strength is our motto this year. I think the surface looks pretty good. It's pretty hard. There's no grass cover on it, I think so. It will be nice to bat on.”

Meanwhile, the winner of this match will qualify for the IPL 2026 final, and the loser will get another chance, facing the winner of the Eliminator (SRH vs RR) in Qualifier 2.