NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru crushed Gujarat Titans by 92 runs in IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 and booked their place in a second straight IPL final. But one of the biggest talking points of the match was Sai Sudharsan’s strange dismissal, which also created an unwanted IPL record.Sudharsan got out in bizarre fashion during the chase. While trying to play a shot off Jacob Duffy, his bat slipped out of his hands, hit the ground and then crashed into the stumps. He was ruled hit wicket and became the first player in IPL history to be dismissed this way twice. The opener managed only 14 runs before walking back stunned. Batting first, RCB posted a massive 254/5 thanks to captain Rajat Patidar’s explosive unbeaten 93 off just 33 balls. After surviving two dropped catches, Patidar completely changed the game with nine sixes and five fours. RCB smashed 114 runs in the last six overs, leaving Gujarat bowlers helpless.Virat Kohli added a quick 43 while Devdutt Padikkal scored 30 to give RCB a strong start. Later, Patidar and Krunal Pandya stitched together a rapid partnership that pushed the score beyond 250.Chasing such a huge total, Gujarat needed a fast start but quickly fell apart. Soon after Sudharsan’s unusual dismissal, captain Shubman Gill was bowled for just two by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Jos Buttler also failed to make an impact as wickets kept tumbling.At one stage, GT were struggling at 51/5 and never really recovered. Rahul Tewatia fought with a 68-run knock, but the target was too big. Gujarat were eventually bowled out for 162.With this win, RCB entered their fifth IPL final, while Gujarat Titans will get one more chance to qualify when they play the winner of the Eliminator.
