The first qualifier match of IPL 2026 will be played today i.e. on Tuesday between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans at the beautiful HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. Just before this great match, RCB captain Rajat Patidar has made a big revelation. Patidar told in the press conference that the team’s star batsman Phil Salt has now completely recovered from the injury and has also started practicing on the field.
It is noteworthy that in the initial phase of this season, Phil Salt was playing as the main opener of RCB along with Virat Kohli. But due to injury in the middle of the season, he had to return to England for treatment. In the absence of Salt, first Jacob Bethel and then Venkatesh Iyer was given the responsibility of opening along with Virat Kohli.
Who will open with Virat? Suspense continues
Now that Jacob Bethel is out of the league and Phil Salt has returned to the team, the biggest question before RCB is who will open against Gujarat today? Will the team continue to trust in-form Venkatesh Iyer or will Phil Salt return straight to the playing eleven? When captain Rajat Patidar was asked this question in the press conference, he said that the team management has not yet taken any final decision on this and the strategy will be clear at the time of the match itself.
Even 250 runs are not safe, Patidar worried about bowlers
Before this very important match, captain Rajat Patidar seemed a little worried about the bowling department of the team. Patidar believes that in modern T-20 cricket, even a score of 220 to 250 runs is no longer safe. He said, “Due to dew and the boundaries of small grounds, controlling the pace of runs has become a big challenge for the bowlers. In such a situation, even a small mistake of the bowler directly translates into six runs.”
Ticket to the final as soon as you win, there will be a chance even if you lose.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore team has performed brilliantly this season, registering 9 wins in 14 matches and is at the top of the points table with 18 points. Whichever team wins the Qualifier-1 match to be held today, it will get a direct ticket to the final. However, due to being in the top-2, RCB also has a backup plan. Even if the team loses this match today, it will get another chance in the form of Qualifier-2 to reach the final.
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