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Former India captain Virender Sehwag has put to rest all claims about the Gujarat Titans (GT) gaining an unfair home advantage during the IPL final against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday. The IPL 2026 Final will be played at GT’s home ground, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Ever since their inception as a franchise, the Gujarat Titans have been a very consistent team, and their dominance at home has contributed to their success. The Titans have won 18 of the 30 matches that they have played at the Motera, including 5 out of 7 this year.
GT won’t get any pitch they want- Virender Sehwag
Normally, the home teams get to decide what kind of pitches they want in their home stadium. Although Delhi Capitals Head Coach Hemang Badani caused some drama when he said that his team wasn’t allowed to control the pitches.
But Virender Sehwag has now confirmed that won’t be the case for the final. Sehwag said that for the big day, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would take care of the pitch preparation rather than the curators submitting to the whims and fancies of the Shubman Gill-led home side.
“This is GT’s home ground, but because it’s a final, they can’t make any pitch that they want, so they won’t get that advantage. Since it’s a final, it will be the BCCI that will prepare the wicket, so it’s a level playing field,” he explained on Cricbuzz.
Also Read: RCB vs GT IPL 2026 Final pitch report: Gujarat official reveals what to expect in Ahmedabad
“It’s a straight 50-50” – Sehwag
On the show, Sehwag went on to explain that RCB being in good form bodes well for the defending champions. He said that RCB’s form makes it a 50-50 contest, but also said that the Gujarat Titans would have to play out of their skins to win the game.
“The kind of cricket that RCB are playing, and have been playing, has been quite exceptional. According to me, it is a straight 50-50,” Sehwag said. “GT will have to play the kind of cricket they did in Qualifier 2 to get the better of RCB in the final,” he added.
RCB vs GT in IPL 2026
Both teams have enjoyed success in IPL 2026, finishing first and second on the points table, respectively. Both teams won 9 of their 14 matches this year, but RCB finished first due to their superior net run rate. Then, in Qualifier 1 at Dharamsala, RCB routed the Titans by 92 runs.
Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal put up 72 in 6 overs after Venkatesh Iyer’s early cameo. RCB captain Rajat Patidar made the best use of dropped chances to smash an unbeaten 93 from just 33 balls. RCB put up 254. Patidar had a partnership of 95 with Krunal Pandya, and RCB added 114 runs in the last 6 overs.
All hopes of chasing the target down ended with the powerplay. Rasikh Salam bowled a double-wicket maiden in the 6th over that more or less sealed the win. Rahul Tewatia made a fifty, but that was a formality. In the league stage, the teams shared honours. At Bengaluru, Virat Kohli’s 81 and Pandya’s quick finish overshadowed Sai Sudharsan’s century as RCB chased down 205.
At Ahmedabad, GT pulled level with a spirited bowling performance. Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, and Jason triggered an RCB collapse that left the Titans needing to chase down just 155. They lost 6 wickets getting there, though.
Both RCB and GT have arguably fond memories of Ahmedabad. In 2022, the Titans won the IPL final here in their very first year as an IPL franchise. In 2025, RCB won their first-ever IPL title at this very stadium after an 18-year wait. So far, RCB have won 4 and lost 4 of their 8 matches at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
