Gujarat Titans (GT) faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Qualifier 1 of the IPL 2026 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamsala by a massive margin of 92 runs. Even though GT still have one more chance to reach the final of the tournament, their performance with both bat and ball against RCB was pretty ordinary. After the match, one of their players, New Zealand star Glenn Phillips did not hold back and snapped at a reporter in the post-match press conference.
In the press conference, Glenn Phillips was asked by a reporter whether GT had given up on the run-chase in the second innings after RCB posted a mammoth 254 on the board in the first innings. This infuriated the New Zealander, as he called it a ‘silly question’
“That’s a silly question. That is a really silly question. No one goes in there waiting to go, ‘Oh, you know what? We’re just going to give up on this one.’ Why would we do that as professional cricketers? That’s a terrible question,” Phillips said.
“We went out there, we gave it everything. Unfortunately, when you’re trying to chase 250, everything has to go right. And we went out there to try and make everything go right, and obviously it didn’t,” he added.
Rajat Patidar Smashes 93 As RCB Reach Final
RCB posted a mammoth total of 254/5 on the board in what was the highest ever made in a playoff match in the history of the IPL. Rajat Patdiar was the star of the show with a 33-ball 93 in a knock that included nine sixes. Virat Kohli (43 off 25) gave them a quick start. Krunal Pandya (43 of 28) put up a 95-run partnership with Patidar in just 35 balls. Kagiso Rabada (2-54) and Jason Holder (2-39) took two wickets each.
The defending champions then bowled out the 2022 trophy winners GT for just 162 after their pacers took five wickets in the powerplay, as Rahul Tewatia’s 43-ball 68 proved a case of too little too late. Jacob Duffy (3-39) was the pick of the bowlers, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-28), Rasikh Salam Dar (2-24) and Krunal Pandya (2-16) took two wickets each.
RCB, thus reached the IPL final for the second time in a row with a 92-run win.
