Sunil Gavaskar feels the IPL 2026 final should have been postponed, as Gujarat Titans’ arrival in Ahmedabad was delayed by adverse weather conditions. GT were expected to reach Ahmedabad by early afternoon on Saturday from Mullanpur. But they were stranded by the weather and landed in Ahmedabad late on Saturday, around 10:45 pm. (RCB vs GT IPL 2026 LIVE SCORE)
The players arrived at the team hotel around midnight. Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bengaluru have been in the city since defeating GT in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday (May 26). Meanwhile, GT faced RR in Qualifier 2, clinching victory in a nervy run chase. Chasing 215 runs, GT reached 219/3 in 18.4 overs, courtesy of skipper Shubman Gill’s 53-ball 104.
‘Players require rest’: Sunil Gavaskar
Speaking to India Today, Gavaskar said, “Yes, definitely. Make no mistake, players require rest. You didn’t know when your flight was taking off, so there was anxiousness. Which means you are mentally also off apart from the physical toll.”
“So, I thought with a reserve day in place, considering what happened was completely unexpected, I thought they could have pushed the final to tomorrow, just to be a little fair to the Gujarat Titans team,” he added.
The reserve day for the final was placed on Monday (June 1)
Even RCB captain Rajat Patidar conceded before the match that his team has an advantage, as they have had enough time to rest and recover.
“Yes, because after Qualifier 1 we got enough time to rest and recover. At the same time, GT are coming straight from Qualifier 2,” he said.
“There is some sort of advantage, but not a huge one because both teams are very good and have played excellent cricket.”
Meanwhile, Gill revealed during the toss on Sunday that his team was ready and fresh for the final.
GT assistant coach Parthiv Patel said, “Obviously, the weather was not in our control. But we keep watching. Our thinking is that we know we have come to play the IPL final. So fatigue does not matter that much. For every player, there is only one thing on their mind: to win the match for the team and make a name for themselves. So all our players are thinking in this direction because no player can get a bigger match or a better opportunity than this.”
Before the IPL final, both sides faced each other first on April 24, where Sai Sudharsan’s classy ton failed to take GT to victory as half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal took RCB past the finishing line.
Then on April 30, GT bowled out RCB for 155 and then chased it down in under 16 overs. They met again in Qualifier 1 and Rajat Patidar’s 93* took RCB to 254, the highest score in an IPL playoff game. Then RCB removed GT’s top order in the powerplay, ending up with a 92-run win.
