What Happened When RCB Last Faced a Gujarat Team in Qualifier 1?
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be going against Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1. But this is not the first time when they are facing a Gujarat based franchise in Qualifier 1. This also happened back in 2016, when AB de Villiers rescued the chase from 29/5 to win the game.
The knockout stages of the Indian Premier League 2026 will begin today. And RCB have proven to be one of the most consistent teams, as they make it to consecutive Qualifier 1 in the last two seasons. Gujarat has already defeated RCB once in the league stages, as they aim to repeat the same in the Qualifier 1.
But this is not the first time RCB will be facing a Gujarat based franchise in the IPL Qualifier. They have already done this 10 years back in 2016.
RCB vs GL: Qualifier 1, IPL 2016
Royal Challengers Bangalore went against Gujarat Lions at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bowl first. RCB did have a good start with the ball, as Iqbal Abdulla and Shane Watson put Gujarat at the score of 3/9. But later on, Dwayne Smith rebuilt the innings with Dinesh Karthik.
Smith scored 73 runs, and the team also received a late cameo from Eklavya Dwivedi, who helped the team to finish at the total of 158 before being all out. Shane Watson was the star for RCB, as he took 4 wickets, while Iqbal Abdulla and Chris Jordan took 2 wickets each.
The start of the short chase didn't turn out to be good for RCB. Even after having a strong batting line-up, the team lost quick wickets. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were dismissed for ducks while Gayle and Watson fell for low scores. Eventually, RCB stood at the score of 29/5 and everyone thought that the match was finished.
But AB de Villiers remained on the crease and dominated the chase. He also received support from Stuart Binny and Iqbal Abdulla at the other end. AB de Villiers went on to score 79 runs off 47 balls with 5 fours and 5 sixes, as RCB won the game with 10 balls to spare.