Interesting call to bowl first from RCB. The powerplay that’s coming up could literally determine the course of this game. If RCB manage to make inroads, they will be able to restrict GT to a total well below par. On the flip side, if GT get off to a good start, they have a great chance to win this game with their gun bowling attack.

Both teams make their way out for the national anthem.

Rajat Patidar winning toss in IPL
Mat 13* | Won 11 | Lost 1

Fewest players used by a team in an IPL season
14 CSK (2015)
15 MI (2018 & 2020)
16 KKR (2018)/ CSK (2021)/ RCB (2026) *

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/2): (On back-to-back finals) Honestly there hasn’t been any discussion because we know it’s a final. The way we have played, we deserved to come here. But we haven’t talked about doing anything different from what we did throughout the tournament, because we know it’s a final, it’s a big match. If we win, we’ll win the trophy. But we want to keep doing the same things that we have done throughout the tournament, the very basic things. (On the league match here) Yes, we have lessons from it, but what matters a lot is how the wicket behaves – whether it will be the same or not. But of course, it’s their home ground. I think they will have more pressure because it is their home ground. They know the conditions and they would want to keep things under their control. But I think this is a one-off game, a final game, a pressure game. So I don’t think it is going to make a huge difference. (on bowling to Gill) It definitely will be. I won’t talk only about Shubman. Their other batsmen are there as well. Their top three – the team depends quite a lot on them, and they are scoring runs. So yes, absolutely, planning is done and execution will happen, but let’s see whose day it turns out to be.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/2): (On his successful season) Look, it would be very easy for me to say that I did something different, but honestly, I haven’t done anything different. Generally, the focus remains, if I talk individually, that you want to do well. But my attention is always on what things I should be doing, the things in which I can do well. Those include things like practice and fitness. And if we talk about bowling, I also tried to work on that before coming here. But yes, the effort was simply to keep doing the same things that I have always done, to keep paying attention to my strengths. I haven’t really done anything that I could call rocket science. The things have been quite simple. (On his preparations) During the off-season I don’t play a lot of cricket, so somewhere I got a full opportunity to focus on fitness. What are the things that are generally needed in this format, because it is a very fast format and fitness is very important. Generally, we talk about the gym, but running is equally important because you have to run a lot on the ground along with bowling. So these were the things I paid attention to. My seniors also focused a lot on good things, and I think these are the things that I have applied.

Jos Buttler: (On having conversations with the youngsters ahead of the big match) Yeah, a little bit. And, most of the guys growing up in India, they’re used to experiencing pressure and noise and it’s encouraged people to lean into it. It is different. It is a bit of a different game, obviously, being a final, but the stuff that we can control and the cricket that we can play is exactly the same. So try and accept the occasion and enjoy it. This is the stage and stuff that we’ve all dreamt about being a part of. So allow those emotions to be there. But then when it comes down to it, focus on the cricket. (Is pressure a privilege?) Potentially, but as I just said it’s pressure moments and being part of big games and big crowds and playing for trophies is the stuff you dream about. So you’ve got to lean into that pressure. It’s the place we all want to be. So we’ve got to accept that pressure will be there and enjoy that and enjoy the challenge of being under pressure and trying to perform. (Additional pressure on the top three?) No, not at all. I think we’ve played a really good brand of cricket for a while. We’re very clear in how we like to operate, but we’re certainly not three players in the team or whatever, or just the bowling attack. It’s a team effort. We’ve all got immense trust and belief in in the whole squad and it’s going to take a team effort today. (Home ground advantage?) It’s familiar for us. Obviously, we’ve played a lot of cricket here. We know what to expect, but it’s certainly not going to be a home crowd.

Gujarat Titans Impact subs: Prasidh Krishna, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Kumar Kushagra, Sai Kishore

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact subs: Venkatesh Iyer, Kanishk Chohan, Swapnil Singh, Abhinandan Singh, Jordan Cox

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar

Gill: (Would you have fielded as well?) No, we would have batted first, honestly. It looks like a good wicket and final game, so hopefully have some runs on the board and put them under pressure. (On the surface) Typical wicket. I think this is our third match we are playing on this wicket. It’s been a really good wicket. There could be some movement in the first 2-3 overs for the fast bowlers, but the wicket settles down pretty nicely after that. (How are you feeling?) Feeling, I think the boys are ready to go. We are feeling fresh and we are ready. (On playing at this venue) One of the biggest stadiums in the world, if not the biggest. Always a privilege and a pleasure to play in such a big ground. We’ve got one change. Arshad (Khan) comes back in for Sai (Kishore).

Patidar: We’ll bowl first. (On the surface) It’s a pretty good wicket. The ball will come nicely on the bat, but to be honest, it will not change in the 40 overs. So we’ll try to get them early as possible. (Mood in the dressing room for the final) A lot of memories last year, but I think it was in 2025. It’s 2026. We have to do our best to win this match. (How you hold your nerve?) That’s important, to keep yourself in the present, not to be too much far ahead. Let’s control the controllables, that’s it. (On the support) Always we love to play in this stadium because of the crowd, the way they came and especially the RCB supporters – 12th man army. They came in every stadium and supported us. (Team combination) The same team.

It’s toss time. Rajat Patidar flips the coin. Shubman Gill calls heads.