Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT) clashed in the final of the IPL 2026 on May 31, 2026, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Rajat Patidar, RCB captain, won the toss and chose to bowl first.
The famed GT opening partnership of Sai Sudharsan (12) and Shubman Gill (10) added only 22 runs for the first wicket. Nishant Sindhu made 20, and Jos Buttler made 19 in 23 balls, as he looked to stem the fall of wickets.
However, he was dismissed by a brilliant delivery by Krunal Pandya. It was the first ball of the 13th over, and Krunal Pandya saw Buttler charging at him at the very last moment on the leg side and fired the ball a bit wide at yorker length. Jitesh Sharma anticipated the delivery and performed a quick stumping, with Krunal celebrating in elation.
After Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan were dismissed early in the innings, the England star, who had scored 526 runs during the competition, was thought to be GT's greatest chance of guiding the game towards a competitive total.
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Not only was Krunal Pandya and RCB over the moon seeing the back of dangerous Jos Buttler, but legendary India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took to social media to laud Krunal Pandya for his presence of mind and executing the perfect ball.
“What a fabulous delivery by @krunalpandya24! He watched the batter's feet until the very last moment before releasing the perfect ball to send him back to the dressing room," Tendulkar wrote on X.
It was because of Washington Sundar’s 50* that GT managed to post 155/8 in 20 overs. For RCB, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood took two wickets, while Rasikh Salam starred with 3/27.
