With just three victories from seven outings, Gujarat Titans finished the IPL 2026 league phase in the seventh spot on the points table. On Friday, they missed a chance to climb higher when they faced Royal Challengers Bengaluru, but a lack of late-innings control left them short of the momentum they needed. Although they lost only three wickets, GT could not build in the closing overs and ended up with 205 runs. In reply, their bowling rarely resembled the intensity expected from the side, and they were unable to push the contest deep into the final over.
GT’s position and the missed opportunity vs RCB
Gujarat’s overall campaign start has been defined by inconsistency, reflected in their record of three wins from seven matches. That context mattered on Friday against RCB, because it offered a clear window to add more points and strengthen their standing. Instead, the Titans were left to rue an innings that never quite accelerated at the death, and a bowling performance that did not threaten the chasing side until the very end.
How the Titans batted and bowled
Despite keeping the scoreboard moving and only losing three wickets, GT failed to apply the kind of finishing pressure that typically separates good totals from defendable ones. Their end-overs execution did not match the demands of the chase they would have hoped to create, and the end product—205—did not provide the cushion they needed. With the ball, the Titans looked far from their usual sharpness, allowing RCB to progress without the match ever turning into a late-over fight.
- Gujarat Titans lost three wickets while posting 205 runs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
- GT did not accelerate in the final overs, leaving themselves without enough late momentum.
- In the bowling innings, they failed to take the game deep into the last over.
- The Titans’ inability to contain RCB batters was especially evident during the death-overs phase.
Sehwag questions Gill’s end-overs calls
After the match, Virender Sehwag voiced sharp criticism of the captaincy and decision-making in the last stretch. He suggested that with the required runs still within reach when the match entered its final phase, the bowling and game plan needed to change—but did not. Sehwag also implied that the captain’s approach lacked the boldness expected in high-pressure moments.
Sehwag’s argument centred on the specific run requirement in the final overs and the timing of bowling interventions. He pointed out that if Mohammed Siraj had been brought in at that stage and managed to take a wicket, the equation might have become far tighter and possibly forced RCB to play under greater strain in the final moments. Instead, Sehwag felt the contest never reached the final over.
He added that Sehwag considered the tactical calculations to be off from the captain’s perspective. While he acknowledged that Prasidh Krishna and Rashid Khan were struck for runs, he maintained that the captain’s duty is to restore control and bring bowlers back into the attack. In his view, treating a bowler’s earlier concession as a reason to abandon him entirely indicates a loss of courage rather than a smart adjustment.
- Sehwag said the captain’s calculations were “slightly wrong” in the closing phase.
- He suggested that if Siraj had been used earlier—when 22 to 25 runs were needed off the last three overs and a wicket fell—then the target could have reduced to around 20 needed off two overs.
- Sehwag argued that the match could have been pushed to the last over, but it did not even reach that point.
- He felt Gill lacked the courage to make big calls in the final two to three overs and looked as if he had “given up.”
- On bowlers being hit, Sehwag emphasised that it remains the captain’s job to bring them back after they concede runs.
Death-overs concerns under Gill’s captaincy
Sehwag’s criticism tied into a broader theme that has followed Gujarat Titans through the season: repeated difficulty in controlling matches at the death. Even with wicket-taking options available in the middle and late overs, GT could not slow down RCB’s batters and failed to protect the final stretch. The struggle at the end of games, the match narrative suggests, has been a recurring concern for the franchise under Shubman Gill’s captaincy.
- The Titans had wicket-taking options in both the middle and end overs but could not convert them into breakthroughs.
- RCB batters were not contained effectively, particularly in the death phase.
- The pattern of late-overs struggles has continued as a season-long issue under Gill’s leadership.
