RCB vs GT Playing 11s, IPL 2026: Bethell replaces Salt, Holder makes GT debut as RCB opt to field

That’s it from us in our coverage of toss and lineups in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. You can follow the live scorecard of this match on this blog to stay updated on the game.

RCB: Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Venkatesh Iyer

GT: Prasidh Krishna, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Phillips, Nishant Sindhu, Arshad Khan

Rajat Patidar, RCB: “I just feel this will be a bowl-first pitch. And as you all know, chasing gives us a lot of clarity about the result, the score and the total. One change – Salty got injured, Bethell is in. I think one great point that I like is that we are assessing the wicket and assessing the situation pretty well this year. And of course, there’s a lot of planning behind it. It’s pretty obvious. Whenever you come here at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, it’s a good wicket to bat on. But I think there’s no grass on it, so first innings it might be a bit tacky”

Shubman Gill, GT: “Generally on this ground, teams that have been chasing have had good success. But I think this looks like an even wicket. So hopefully it will be a good game for us. Honestly, not really. It’s all about assessing the conditions early. And if you get off to a good powerplay, then you can build on that. So I think that’s the challenge for us. If you get off to a good start, then just keep mounting on that. Games like that in such a big tournament can happen (on the match against MI). But I think it’s very important to keep reminding ourselves of the things that, as a team, bring us the best success and the best result. And those are the things that we’outside the leg-stump be focusing on.”

RCB: Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar

GT: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj

The West Indian seam-bowling all-rounder is one of two changes for the Titans, with Manav Suthar also returning to the lineup.

One change for the Royal Challengers – Phil Salt is injured and England teammate Jacob Bethell replaces him.

“A couple of matches have already been played on this particular strip. 250 and 150. It’s been a tale of two stories. The seamers at this particular ground, regardless of the surface, they’ve absolutely peppered a good line and a good length and just back off. And I think that’s key. We have some brilliant seamers on show today. The likes of Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Josh Hazelwood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Plenty of match-ups from bowlers against good batting line-ups. There isn’t a blade of grass on this wicket. So the level of accuracy is going to be key, particularly early on, if you want to threaten that top order. I don’t think it’ll turn. I think it’s going to be a good wicket to bat on. This looks like a really good surface to bat on. You would want to chase, but if you bat first, try and get a big score. 200 plus, you’ll be in a good position.”

“We’ll remain consistent in the way we go about our batting and our bowling and our [game] altogether, to be perfectly honest with you. That’s been something we’ve been mindful of, is to remain consistent regardless of results. We trust in our method, we trust in the players that we have, in delivering that method and that formula,” said Vikram Solanki.

“We want to play aggressive cricket with the bat and aggressive cricket with the ball. More importantly, we want to be brave, especially in moments when the game is on the line. If we can do that consistently, the results will take care of themselves,” Mo Bobat said ahead of Friday’s showdown at the Chinnaswamy.

Gujarat Titans enjoy a 2-1 win-loss record at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, having pulled off successful chases against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2023 (6 wickets) and 2025 (8 wickets).

Their only defeat at this venue was in 2024, when they suffered a four-wicket loss after getting bowled out for 147.

RCB: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam (IP)

GT: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Kumar Kushagra, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna (IP), Mohammed Siraj, R. Sai Kishore

The RCB vs GT match will be the final game of the season at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which had received a clearance to host games just days before the series opener against SRH. With the Royal Challengers shifting base to Raipur for the second half of the season, they will be hoping to sign off on a happy note.

RCB has a major batting edge over GT, with consistent performers like openers Phil Salt and Virat Kohli, skipper Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal and Tim David. Most of the batters have displayed extreme power-hitting skills in the competition.

The Bengaluru batters will be keen to deliver a robust performance after conceding a victory at home.

RCB have played 73 matches in total at the M. Chinnaswamy and have won 39 matches. The franchise faced defeat in 28 fixtures, while six matches ended without a result or a tie.

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans are coming off losses that have affected their positions in the points table.

RCB are currently third in the standings, securing eight points after four wins and two losses in six matches.

GT are positioned seventh in the table after three wins and three losses in the last six matches they have played.

Both sides will look to bounce back in the competition tonight.

The RCB vs GT clash features an interesting player battle between Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj. It has more of an emotional factor as two talents from the Indian team go up against each other in IPL.

Other battles include Shubman Gill vs Bhuvneshwar Kumar, which will be a thrilling affair. Bhuvi has ten wickets and will be on the hunt for more. Gill also looks in form, scoring 265 runs to his name.

Gujarat Titans had thrashed Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 8 wickets at the Chinnaswamy in their only meeting last year.

RCB had been restricted to a modest 169/8 by ex-Royal Challenger Mohammed Siraj (3/19) while Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 73 helped the Titans chase the target down with more than two overs to spare.

Here’s the full head-to-head record between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans since the latter made their debut in 2022: 

Matches: 6

RCB won: 3

GT won: 3

No Result: 0

Here’s a recap of GT’s results in the 2026 Indian Premier League:

– Lost to Punjab Kings by 3 wickets in Mullanpur on 31 March

– Lost to Rajasthan Royals by 6 runs in Ahmedabad on 4 April

– Defeated Delhi Capitals by 1 run in New Delhi on 8 April

– Defeated Lucknow Super Giants by 7 wickets in Lucknow on 12 April

– Defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 5 wickets in Ahmedabad on 17 April

– Lost to Mumbai Indians by 99 runs in Ahmedabad on 20 April.

Here’s a recap of RCB’s results in the 2026 Indian Premier League: 

– Defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 6 wickets in Bengaluru on 28 March

– Defeated Chennai Super Kings by 43 runs in Bengaluru on 5 April

– Lost to Rajasthan Royals by 6 wickets in Guwahati on 10 April

– Defeated Mumbai Indians by 18 runs in Mumbai on 12 April

– Defeated Lucknow Super Giants by 5 wickets on 15 April

– Lost to Delhi Capitals by 6 wickets on 18 April

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be hosting Gujarat Titans on the same strip where they had faced Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals. The former was a high-scoring contest that saw more than 450 runs being scored, and with the wicket well-watered ahead of the match with an even covering of grass, another high-scoring contest is likely on the cards.

While the ongoing IPL season has had its fair share of rain-affected games with one ending in a washout, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans game isn’t likely to witness any such interruptions. Click here for the Bengaluru weather report ahead of the RCB vs GT match.

RCB: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar, Venkatesh Iyer, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Jacob Duffy, Swapnil Singh, Nuwan Thushara, Jacob Bethell, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhinandan Singh, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal

GT: Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Ashok Sharma, Rahul Tewatia, Jason Holder, Manav Suthar, Kulwant Khejroliya, Anuj Rawat, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Luke Wood, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Kumar Kushagra, Arshad Khan, Gurnoor Brar, Nishant Sindhu, Connor Esterhuizen

The RCB vs GT match will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network and will be streamed live on the JioHotstar website and application.

The upcoming RCB vs GT match will be taking place at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday, 24 April.

The toss in the RCB vs GT match will be taking place at 7 pm IST, with match getting underway 30 minutes later.

The RCB vs GT match will be getting underway a little over three hours from now. Follow our live blog for the latest updates.