IPL 2026 | Match 34: RCB vs GT | Preview and Prediction

Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans will look to bounce back from their respective losses in their respective previous games as they square off in what is shaping up to be a fascinating contest between RCB’s formidable batting might against GT’s well-balanced bowling attack.

Here is our Preview and Prediction for the game.

IPL 2026 | Match 34: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans | 19:30, 24 April

The defending champions were stopped in their tracks by Delhi Capitals in a thriller that went until the final ball of the innings. While the nature of the contest will tell you that it was a close game, a little digging and you will find out that it was not as close as it panned out to be.

RCB could and should have iced the game in their favour. Skipper Rajat Patidar’s gamble of bowling out Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood by over number 19 in the search of wickets did not work in his favour, which meant that the onus of bowling the final over fell on the shoulders of Romario Shepherd, who with all due respect to him is not exactly cut out for these kind of situations. 

With the bat, their otherwise formidable batting order could not come to terms with the sticky nature of the wicket. Jitesh Sharma, in particular, struggled mightily in his time out in the middle, and indirectly put a lot of pressure on his partners, who eventually perished playing the big shots while Jitesh continued to chew up deliveries on the other end.

The bowling has been sensational for the defending champions, with Bhuvi and Hazlewood acquitting themselves rather beautifully, ably supported by the uncanny and unorthodox spin duo of Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma. Rasikh Dar adds a layer of dependability as well, making them a formidable prospect with the ball.

Gujarat Titans have been brought back to earth after the shellacking they received at home against the Mumbai Indians. Their biggest weakness was brutally exploited as their vaunted top 3 failed collectively, and the soft underbelly of the middle order was taken apart piece by piece by the MI bowlers. 

The way the GT middle order folded will definitely raise big concerns in the think-tank. Glenn Phillips has been short of runs and underwhelming with the bat. Washington Sundar has shown glimpses but has been unable to convert those starts into meaningful and impactful knocks. Rahul Tewatia and Shah Rukh Khan have been perennial underperformers with the bat, the duo unable to make any sort of impact in the last couple of seasons.

While the bowling has been more or less holding their own in games, they will obviously look to their batting department to fire in unison. GT cannot afford to be top-heavy in a tournament where every person in the batting unit is expected to contribute to the cause.

Both sides need a win to keep afloat in the race for the playoffs, with GT needing it more so than RCB. However, RCB are the favourites to win the contest given the balance in both their batting and bowling line-ups compared to Shubman Gill’s side. But given that both these sides have been part of high-scoring encounters more often than not, it will definitely be a tantalizing contest.

Fantasy 11: Phil Salt ( c ), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Jos Buttler (wk), Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, Krunal Pandya, Rashid Khan, Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Kagiso Rabada.

Venue: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

Winners Prediction: Royal Challengers Bengaluru.