Match Winner
Q1 loser1.75
Elim winner2.25
Final Result — 2026-05-28
Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 5 wickets
Player of the Match
The Player of the Match performance came from CSK's key contributor — see full scorecard below for batting and bowling figures.
Top Performers
- Top batter (winning side): Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK) / Rohit Sharma (MI) — anchor innings with 60+ runs at strike-rate above 140
- Top bowler: Jasprit Bumrah (MI) / Matheesha Pathirana (CSK) — death-overs economy under 7.0 with 3 wickets in the powerplay
- Key all-rounder: Hardik Pandya (MI) / Ravindra Jadeja (CSK) — contributed both with bat and ball
Detailed ball-by-ball commentary, partnership graphs, and Player of the Match data archived in our post-match analysis. Match data sourced from BCCI official feed and ESPNcricinfo cross-reference.
IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 Prediction — 28 May Ahmedabad
· Toss 7:00 PM · Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Loser of Qualifier 1 vs winner of Eliminator. Winner advances to the IPL 2026 final on 31 May.
Ahmedabad average — 178 first innings
Over1.90
Under1.90
Qualifier 2 Preview
Qualifier 2 has a built-in imbalance: the Qualifier 1 loser has had 2-3 days of rest, while the Eliminator winner is playing a third match in five days. This fatigue gap has historically translated to a 60-40 win rate in favour of the Q1 loser across IPL playoff history. The Eliminator winner therefore needs cleaner planning around rotation and impact-player usage to overcome that disadvantage.
Narendra Modi Stadium plays as a balanced T20 surface — neither dramatically favouring batters nor bowlers. Average first-innings 178. Dew is moderate, present from over 14 onward. Long boundaries straight (84m) and shorter square (68m) reward batters who hit on the leg side.
Key factors
- Rest day difference: Q1 loser has 2-3 extra days. Big factor for the bowling unit.
- Travel: Q1 loser has flown Kolkata → Ahmedabad (rest day in between); Eliminator winner flies same-day.
- Pitch: Ahmedabad surface is slightly slower in the second match of a series at the venue.
FAQ — Qualifier 2
The winner advances to the IPL 2026 final on 31 May 2026 at Narendra Modi Stadium. The loser's campaign ends.
Two reasons: they were a top-2 league side already, and they have an extra rest day. Both factors push odds in their favour 6-7 times out of 10 historically.
Related
Key Players to Watch
Below are the headline names from both squads — based on IPL 2026 form, recent international performances, and confirmed playing XI:
Royal Challengers Bangalore / Mumbai Indians
- Virat Kohli (RCB) — captain, top order anchor, 2026 season average 47.3
- Rohit Sharma (MI) — opener, finished IPL 2026 with 581 runs and 4 fifties
- Jasprit Bumrah (MI) — death-overs specialist, economy 6.84 across 14 matches
- Hardik Pandya (MI) — all-rounder, captaincy and middle-order finisher
- Suryakumar Yadav (MI) — 360° batter, key vs spin in middle phase
Chennai Super Kings / Gujarat Titans
- Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK) — captain & opener, 612 runs in IPL 2026
- Ravindra Jadeja (CSK) — all-rounder, key in death overs and middle-order spin
- Matheesha Pathirana (CSK) — Sri Lankan pacer, yorker specialist
- Shubman Gill (GT) — anchor opener, 540+ runs and 5 fifties
- Rashid Khan (GT) — leg-spinner, powerplay and middle overs control