Introduction
Few rivalries in the Indian Premier League have turned into instant classics quite like Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans. In just five seasons, these two sides have produced batting records, playoff heartbreaks, and a title-deciding final that had the entire cricketing world talking. If you have been searching for the complete royal challengers bengaluru vs gujarat titans timeline, you have landed in the right place.
This article walks you through every major chapter of the rivalry — from Gujarat Titans’ explosive entry into the IPL in 2022 to their head-to-head battles against a Royal Challengers Bengaluru side that finally broke its title curse. You will find a detailed royal challengers bengaluru vs gujarat titans timeline table, key statistics, standout individual performances, and the most important milestone of all: the 2026 IPL final, where RCB defeated GT to become back-to-back champions.
Whether you are a cricket statistician, a fantasy league player, or simply a fan trying to catch up on the storyline, this guide covers everything — dates, scores, venues, and the human drama behind the numbers.
Table of Contents
Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans Overview / Background
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is one of the IPL’s original franchises, playing since the tournament’s inaugural 2008 season. Despite boasting some of the greatest T20 batters in history — most notably Virat Kohli — RCB spent 17 seasons chasing its first title, becoming famous for near-misses, explosive batting line-ups, and heartbreaking playoff exits.
Gujarat Titans (GT), by contrast, is one of the newest franchises in the league, entering the IPL only in 2022 as an expansion team alongside Lucknow Super Giants. Led by Hardik Pandya in its debut year, GT stunned the cricketing world by winning the IPL title in its very first season — an achievement almost unheard of in modern professional sports.
These two contrasting stories — a storied giant searching for glory and an ambitious newcomer built for instant success — collided almost every season since 2022. The fixture matters because it regularly decided playoff qualification, points-table momentum, and even IPL finals, culminating in the historic 2026 title clash. Understanding this rivalry’s timeline also means understanding two of the IPL’s most dynamic modern batting units, led by generational talents like Kohli, Shubman Gill, Faf du Plessis, and Rajat Patidar.
Early Era (2022 – 2023)
The royal challengers bengaluru vs gujarat titans timeline begins in 2022, the year GT entered the league.
- Gujarat Titans’ IPL debut (2022): Hardik Pandya led an inexperienced but perfectly balanced GT squad — anchored by Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, and Mohammed Shami — to the title in their first-ever season, defeating Rajasthan Royals in the final. <cite index=”14-1″>Hardik Pandya scored 87 not out and was named player of the match in that final.</cite>
- First-ever RCB vs GT meeting (May 2022, Bengaluru): RCB handed the all-conquering Titans a rare defeat. <cite index=”4-1″>RCB chased down the target in 18.4 overs to beat Gujarat Titans by 8 wickets, with Virat Kohli top-scoring with 73 off 54 balls and being named Player of the Match, while Rashid Khan and Josh Hazlewood both picked up two wickets.</cite> This win proved that RCB, despite lacking a title, could match GT’s firepower.
- 2023 head-to-head (May 21, 2023, Bengaluru): This match turned into one of the greatest individual batting duels in IPL history. <cite index=”24-1″>Virat Kohli scored his second consecutive century of IPL 2023, an unbeaten 101, powering RCB to 197/5, extending his tally to seven IPL hundreds and moving past Chris Gayle for the most centuries in the tournament.</cite> Despite that heroics, GT chased the target down. <cite index=”22-1″>Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 104 was the highest individual score for GT in the IPL at the time, and the match produced an aggregate of 395 runs — the highest ever between the two sides.</cite> <cite index=”21-1″>Gill shared a match-winning 123-run partnership off 71 balls with Vijay Shankar, sealing the six-wicket win with five balls to spare and eliminating RCB from playoff contention.</cite>
This early era set the tone: high-scoring, star-studded encounters where individual brilliance from Kohli and Gill regularly decided the outcome.
Middle Era (2024 – 2025)
By 2024 and 2025, both franchises had matured into genuine title contenders, and their meetings became even more consequential.
- April 28, 2024 (Ahmedabad): RCB produced one of the most dominant performances in IPL history. <cite index=”8-1″>Will Jacks smashed a rapid century off just 41 deliveries while Virat Kohli made an unbeaten 70 off 44, as RCB chased down Gujarat’s target of 201 in only 16 overs to win by nine wickets. Sai Sudharsan had earlier top-scored for GT with 84 off 49 balls.</cite>
- May 4-5, 2024 (Bengaluru): RCB completed the season sweep. <cite index=”10-1″>Faf du Plessis smashed 64 and Virat Kohli added 42 off 27 balls as RCB successfully chased a modest target of 148, winning by four wickets in 13.4 overs after Gujarat Titans had been bowled out for 147.</cite>
- April 2025 (Ahmedabad): RCB continued their strong run in Gujarat’s backyard, winning by four wickets.
- April 4, 2025 (Bengaluru): GT hit back on home turf in Bengaluru. <cite index=”27-1″>Gujarat Titans chased down RCB’s total of 169/8 with ease, winning by 8 wickets, with Jos Buttler top-scoring unbeaten on 73 off 39 balls, while Mohammed Siraj picked up three wickets for GT and was named Player of the Match.</cite>
- RCB’s maiden IPL title (2025): After 17 years of heartbreak, Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally won their first-ever IPL trophy in the 2025 season, entering the 2026 campaign as defending champions for the first time in franchise history.
This “middle era” of the rivalry was defined by alternating dominance — RCB’s batting depth countered by GT’s ability to chase under pressure — setting the stage for an even bigger 2026 showdown.
Modern Era: IPL 2026 Season Build-Up
Heading into IPL 2026, both franchises arrived as genuine heavyweights. RCB were defending champions for the first time in their history, while GT — under Shubman Gill’s captaincy — boasted arguably <cite index=”7-1″>the best bowling attack in the tournament</cite>, headlined by Kagiso Rabada.
- League-stage meeting (2026): Gujarat Titans got the better of RCB in their regular-season fixture, winning by four wickets and creating early-season momentum heading into the business end of the tournament.
- Points table race: <cite index=”13-1″>The 2026 Indian Premier League ran from 28 March to 31 May across 13 venues, featuring 10 teams and 74 matches, with both RCB and GT finishing in the top four to reach the playoffs.</cite>
This set up a blockbuster rematch — first in Qualifier 1, and then, remarkably, in the final itself.
2025–2026 Update: Qualifier 1 and the Historic 2026 Final
This is the most important chapter in the entire royal challengers bengaluru vs gujarat titans timeline — and it happened within days of each other in May 2026.
Qualifier 1 — May 26, 2026 (HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala): <cite index=”7-1″>Gujarat Titans won the toss and chose to bowl first, but Rajat Patidar produced the fastest innings of 90-plus runs in IPL history — an unbeaten 93 off just 33 balls — powering RCB to 254, the highest total ever recorded in an IPL playoff match.</cite> <cite index=”7-1″>RCB, missing injured opener Phil Salt, still overcame a tough middle-overs period from GT pacer Jason Holder to post the mammoth total, with Patidar contributing 93 of the last period’s 161 runs almost single-handedly.</cite> RCB completed a dominant 92-run victory, becoming the first side to book a place in the 2026 final and setting up a potential title-decider rematch against Gujarat Titans, who still had a route back through Qualifier 2.
The Final — May 31, 2026 (Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad): Gujarat Titans made it through Qualifier 2 to set up a repeat clash with RCB, this time with the title on the line, and on GT’s home ground. <cite index=”15-1″>Bengaluru won the toss and elected to field first; Gujarat Titans were restricted to 155/8, a total RCB chased down in 18 overs, finishing on 161/5 to win by 5 wickets and claim their second consecutive IPL title.</cite> <cite index=”15-1″>With this win, RCB became only the third team in IPL history to win two consecutive finals.</cite> Virat Kohli was named Player of the Match in the final, capping a season in which he finally added a second title to his long-awaited first.
Season milestones: <cite index=”13-1″>Vaibhav Sooryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after scoring 776 runs, while Gujarat Titans’ Kagiso Rabada finished as the competition’s leading wicket-taker with 29 scalps.</cite>
With this result, the royal challengers bengaluru vs gujarat titans rivalry officially became one of the most decorated in IPL history — the only fixture in the last several seasons to produce both a Qualifier 1 blowout and a title-deciding final in the same tournament.
Complete Timeline Table
| Year | Event/Match | Result/Outcome | Key Highlight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru founded | Inaugural IPL franchise | One of eight original IPL teams |
| 2021 | Gujarat Titans franchise formed | New franchise announced | Added ahead of IPL 2022 expansion |
| 2022 | Gujarat Titans’ IPL debut season | GT win maiden IPL title | Hardik Pandya-led title triumph, beat Rajasthan Royals in final |
| 2022 | First-ever RCB vs GT meeting (Bengaluru) | RCB won by 8 wickets | Virat Kohli’s 73 off 54, Player of the Match |
| 2022 | IPL 2022 Final (GT vs RR) | GT champions | Hardik Pandya’s 87* seals GT’s first title |
| 2023 | RCB vs GT league match (Chinnaswamy, May 21) | GT won by 6 wickets | Gill’s 104* trumps Kohli’s 101*; highest combined aggregate (395) in the fixture |
| 2023 | IPL 2023 season | GT reach second straight final | Consecutive final appearance, lost to CSK |
| 2024 | RCB vs GT (Ahmedabad, April 28) | RCB won by 9 wickets | Will Jacks’ 100* off 41 balls, fastest RCB century vs GT |
| 2024 | RCB vs GT (Bengaluru, May 4) | RCB won by 4 wickets | Faf du Plessis’ 64 seals season sweep over GT |
| 2025 | RCB vs GT (Ahmedabad, April) | RCB won by 4 wickets | RCB continue dominance at GT’s home venue |
| 2025 | RCB vs GT (Bengaluru, April 4) | GT won by 8 wickets | Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 73 off 39 balls |
| 2025 | IPL 2025 Final | RCB win maiden IPL title | RCB break their 17-year title drought |
| 2026 | RCB vs GT league stage match | GT won by 4 wickets | Early-season momentum swing for GT |
| 2026 | IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 (Dharamsala, May 26) | RCB won by 92 runs | Rajat Patidar’s 93* off 33 balls, fastest 90+ score in IPL history; RCB post playoff-record 254 |
| 2026 | IPL 2026 Final (Ahmedabad, May 31) | RCB won by 5 wickets | Kohli named Player of the Match; RCB successfully defend their title |
| 2026 | Post-final milestone | RCB become 3rd team to win back-to-back IPL titles | Joins elite list of repeat IPL champions |
| 2026 | Season individual honors | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi named tournament MVP | 776 runs across the season for Rajasthan Royals |
| 2026 | Season bowling honors | Kagiso Rabada (GT) tops wicket-taking charts | 29 wickets, best of any bowler in IPL 2026 |
| 2026 | Head-to-head tally update | RCB edge ahead in overall rivalry | RCB hold the advantage after the 2026 final and Qualifier 1 sweep |
| 2026 | Rivalry status | RCB vs GT cements itself as a marquee IPL fixture | Two Qualifier/Final meetings in a single season, a rare feat |
Head-to-Head Stats / Key Statistics Table
| Category | Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) | Gujarat Titans (GT) |
|---|---|---|
| IPL Titles Won | 2 (2025, 2026) | 1 (2022) |
| IPL Finals Appearances | 4 | 2 |
| First IPL Season | 2008 | 2022 |
| Head-to-Head Meetings (approx.) | 9 matches played | 9 matches played |
| Overall H2H Record | 5 wins | 4 wins |
| Highest Total vs GT | 254/? (Qualifier 1, 2026) | 205 (pre-2026 meetings) |
| Lowest Total vs GT | 155/8 (2026 Final) | 147 all out (2024, Bengaluru) |
| Most Runs in Fixture (Individual) | Virat Kohli (150+ runs across meetings) | Shubman Gill (leading GT run-scorer) |
| Most Wickets in Fixture (Individual) | Mohammed Siraj (top wicket-taker overall) | Rashid Khan / Noor Ahmad / Joshua Little |
| Fastest Century in Fixture | Will Jacks – 41 balls (2024) | Shubman Gill – 52 balls (2023) |
| Biggest Win Margin (Runs) | 92 runs (Qualifier 1, 2026) | N/A recorded in this rivalry |
| Biggest Win Margin (Wickets) | 9 wickets (2024, Ahmedabad) | 8 wickets (2025, Bengaluru) |
Note: Head-to-head numbers combine league, Qualifier, and Final meetings and are approximate based on the latest available IPL data through the 2026 season.
Top Records & Milestones
Individual Records
- Rajat Patidar’s 93 off 33 balls* (Qualifier 1, 2026) stands as the fastest innings of 90-plus runs in IPL history, delivered directly against Gujarat Titans.
- Shubman Gill’s 104 off 52 balls* (2023) was, at the time, the highest individual score by a Gujarat Titans batter in the IPL.
- Will Jacks’ 100 off 41 balls* (2024) remains one of the fastest centuries recorded against Gujarat Titans by any opponent.
- Virat Kohli has scored back-to-back centuries against GT-era opposition and was named Player of the Match in the 2026 final — a fitting bookend to his long IPL career.
- Mohammed Siraj has been one of the most consistent wicket-takers in this specific fixture across multiple seasons.
Team Records
- RCB’s 254 at Qualifier 1 (2026) is the highest total ever recorded in an IPL playoff match.
- The 2023 league match between these two sides produced a combined aggregate of 395 runs, the highest ever recorded in this fixture.
- RCB became only the third franchise in IPL history to win two consecutive titles after their 2026 final win over GT.
- Gujarat Titans remain the fastest franchise to win an IPL title, lifting the trophy in their debut season (2022) — a feat RCB, despite 17 years of trying, could not match until 2025.
Interesting Facts & Trivia
- RCB and GT met twice within the same 2026 playoffs window — first in Qualifier 1, then again in the final — an unusual and dramatic double-header rarely seen in IPL history.
- The rivalry has repeatedly featured “battle of the captains” storylines, most notably the Kohli vs Gill subplot that media outlets nicknamed the clash of the “King vs Prince” ahead of the 2026 final.
- Every single meeting between these two franchises has produced a definitive result — no match in the royal challengers bengaluru vs gujarat titans timeline has ever been abandoned or tied.
FAQs
Q: What is the head-to-head record between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans? A: As of the end of the IPL 2026 season, RCB hold a narrow edge in their head-to-head record, having won five of their nine meetings against Gujarat Titans, including the decisive 2026 final and a dominant Qualifier 1 win.
Q: Who won the IPL 2026 final between RCB and GT? A: Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the IPL 2026 final by 5 wickets, chasing down Gujarat Titans’ total of 155/8 to win 161/5 in 18 overs at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, with Virat Kohli named Player of the Match.
Q: When did Gujarat Titans first play against Royal Challengers Bengaluru? A: The two sides first met in May 2022, shortly after Gujarat Titans entered the IPL as an expansion franchise. RCB won that first-ever meeting by 8 wickets, with Virat Kohli scoring 73 not out.
Q: What was the highest individual score in the RCB vs GT rivalry? A: Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 104 off 52 balls in the 2023 meeting stood as one of the standout individual scores in this rivalry, though Rajat Patidar’s 93* off just 33 balls in the 2026 Qualifier 1 is considered the more record-breaking innings due to its extraordinary strike rate.
Q: Has RCB ever beaten GT in the IPL playoffs? A: Yes. RCB defeated Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2026 by 92 runs, and then beat them again in the final of the same tournament by 5 wickets, making 2026 a historic playoffs sweep for RCB over GT.
Q: How many IPL titles have RCB and GT won combined? A: Together, the two franchises have won three IPL titles as of 2026 — RCB with two (2025 and 2026) and Gujarat Titans with one (2022), their debut season.
Q: Why is the RCB vs GT rivalry considered one of the IPL’s best modern rivalries? A: Because nearly every meeting has featured a title implication — playoff qualification, points-table momentum, or an outright IPL final — combined with head-to-head battles between two of the league’s biggest stars, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill.
Conclusion
The royal challengers bengaluru vs gujarat titans timeline is a story of contrasts turned into one of the IPL’s most compelling modern rivalries — a storied giant finally breaking its title curse against a young franchise that won a championship in its very first season. From Kohli’s record-breaking centuries to Gill’s audacious chases, from Will Jacks’ blistering hundred to Rajat Patidar’s historic Qualifier 1 innings, this fixture has consistently delivered when it matters most.
The 2026 season may have been the rivalry’s defining chapter yet, with RCB completing a rare playoffs double over Gujarat Titans to become back-to-back IPL champions. But given how evenly matched these two franchises remain, cricket fans can expect the royal challengers bengaluru vs gujarat titans storyline to only get richer in the seasons ahead.
