NEW DELHI: Kagiso Rabada etched his name into the IPL record books during Gujarat Titans’ Qualifier 1 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on Tuesday.The South African speedster became the bowler with the most wickets in the Powerplay in a single IPL season after dismissing Venkatesh Iyer during the high-stakes encounter.Rabada bowled a back-of-a-length delivery around off stump and Iyer attempted an aggressive shot but only managed a top edge. GT captain Shubman Gill, stationed at mid-off, sprinted backwards and completed a fine running catch.With that breakthrough, Rabada moved past Mohammed Shami, who had taken 17 wickets in the Powerplay during the 2023 IPL season.
- Most wickets in first six overs in an IPL season
- 18 – Kagiso Rabada (2026)*
- 17 – Mohammed Shami (2023)
- 16 – Mitchell Johnson (2013)
- 16 – Trent Boult (2020)
Earlier, Gujarat Titans won the toss and elected to bowl first against RCB in Qualifier 1.GT made one change to their playing XI, bringing in Kulwant Khejroliya in place of Arshad Khan.RCB also made one change, with Jacob Duffy replacing Romario Shepherd.The winner of Qualifier 1 will secure direct entry into the IPL 2026 final, while the losing side will get another chance through Qualifier 2.RCB and GT finished first and second on the points table respectively, both ending the league stage with 18 points and separated only by net run rate. The two sides were tied 1-1 in their head-to-head meetings this season and 4-4 overall in IPL history.One of table-toppers RCB’s five defeats this season came against GT, whose bowling attack had troubled them earlier in the tournament. However, the defending champions later avenged that defeat in the reverse fixture.Both teams are chasing their second IPL title. While RCB are aiming to defend their crown successfully, GT are looking to reclaim the trophy they won in their debut season in 2022.
RCB vs GT Qualifer 1 Playing XIs:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Jitesh Sharma(wk), Krunal Pandya, Jacob Duffy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam DarImpact substitutes: Romario Shepherd, Suyash Sharma, Kanishk Chauhan, Abhinandan, Jordan Cox.Gujarat Titans: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(wk), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Kagiso Rabada, Kulwant, Mohammed Siraj,Impact substitutes: Rahul Tewatia, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Phillips, Sai Kishore, Kumar Kushagra
