Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s 254 for 5 against Gujarat Titans in Dharamsala has rewritten several IPL and T20 playoff milestones, with Rajat Patidar playing a captain’s knock that delivered both a massive total and a string of record numbers across the game’s latest knockout context.
Massive RCB total sets new knockout benchmarks
RCB’s 254 for 5 is the highest team score by any side in an IPL playoff (or other knockout) match. The previous best belonged to Gujarat Titans three years earlier, when they made 233 for 3 against Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2.
It is also the fifth time a team has posted 250 or more in a playoff or knockout contest in T20 cricket. Notably, four of those 250-plus efforts have arrived in India over the last six months.
- RCB have now produced 4 innings of 250-plus in the IPL, the second-highest tally by any franchise in the league.
- Sunrisers Hyderabad lead the list with 6 such scores.
GT’s defence breaks a ceiling
For Gujarat Titans, the chase began with a historic problem: they conceded 250-plus runs in an innings for the first time. Their earlier best against the 250 mark was 247 for 2, which they allowed to Kolkata Knight Riders ten days before this game.
Late acceleration: RCB’s finishing overs and Patidar’s captaincy
RCB’s innings was powered strongly in the closing stage, with 114 runs scored in the last six overs—only the second time any team has reached that figure in an IPL innings. The record for most runs in the final six overs belongs to RCB themselves, when they piled up 126 against Gujarat Lions in 2016.
- RCB have recorded 9 totals of 200-plus in IPL 2026, the joint-most by any team in a T20 tournament.
- They share that top mark with Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings, who also have nine such scores each in the edition.
At the centre of the surge was Patidar, whose unbeaten 93 off 33 balls carried a strike rate of 281.81. That is the best mark for a captain in a fifty-plus score in IPL history. The previous benchmark, 278.26, was set by Faf du Plessis when he struck 64 off 23 deliveries for RCB against Gujarat Titans in 2024.
- No batter has scored more runs at a higher strike rate than Patidar’s 93* (281.81) in an IPL innings.
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 278.37 is second-best for that run tally: 103 off 37, also against Gujarat Titans last year.
Only one dot ball, and a bye to RCB
Patidar’s knock included just a single dot ball. That standstill came off Prasidh Krishna in the 12th over, a delivery that resulted in a bye for RCB.
His 93* against Gujarat Titans is also tied for the highest score by any captain in IPL playoffs (or knockouts). David Warner previously made 93* for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Gujarat Lions in Qualifier 2 in 2016.
Six-hitting and late-innings tempo
Patidar struck nine sixes during his unbeaten 93, which is the second-most by any batter in an IPL playoff (or knockout) match. Shubman Gill holds the top spot with 10 sixes during his 129 against Mumbai Indians in 2023.
Eight of Patidar’s sixes arrived in the latter part of the innings: during the phase when he scored 72 off 20 balls, after starting that stretch at 21 off 13.
Rabada’s powerplay impact and the sixes he conceded
Kagiso Rabada delivered a standout powerplay haul, taking 18 wickets in IPL 2026 during the opening overs—more than any bowler has managed in a single IPL season. He also surpassed Mohammed Shami, who had 17 wickets in 2023 while playing for Gujarat Titans.
However, Rabada’s season statistics also reflect a trade-off: he has conceded 35 sixes across all phases in this IPL, the most by any bowler in an edition, edging past Anshul Kamboj’s 34 sixes, also recorded in 2026.
