Gujarat Titans fell short in the IPL 2026 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, losing to Royal Challengers Bengaluru by five wickets after posting only 155/8. Vikram Solanki, GT's Director of Cricket, stepped forward in the post-match press conference and gave a candid assessment of where his side went wrong.
He made it clear that GT's think tank had misjudged what the pitch was capable of, and that the batting approach in the powerplay overs proved costly on a surface that did not reward aggression in the same way Mullanpur had done just days earlier in Qualifier 2.
Vikram Solanki on GT's batting approach in the IPL 2026 final
Solanki admitted the total of 155/8 was below par but praised the players for their fight in attempting to defend it. GT's openers attacked from the outset, seemingly emboldened by the aggressive template that had worked brilliantly in Mullanpur, yet the Ahmedabad surface responded differently.
Wickets tumbled inside the powerplay, leaving the middle order with far too much to do on a pitch that, in hindsight, rewarded patience and accumulation over boundary-hitting from ball one. RCB, spearheaded by Rasikh Salam and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, restricted Gujarat to just 155/8 before Virat Kohli guided the chase with a brilliant 75 off 42 balls.
Solanki's honest assessment after the IPL 2026 final loss
Solanki did not deflect blame onto external factors such as the hectic travel schedule GT endured in the lead-up to the final. He stated firmly that he did not want to take credit away from RCB's victory by pointing to fatigue as a mitigating factor, insisting that attitude was not what his side stood for.
Furthermore, he acknowledged that a score closer to 180 would have put RCB under real pressure and perhaps swung the match in GT's favour. The difference of roughly 20 to 25 runs ultimately proved the margin between a competitive total and one that a side of RCB's quality chased down with something to spare.
RCB became only the third team in IPL history to successfully defend the title, joining Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians in achieving back-to-back championships. For Gujarat Titans, this defeat stings all the more given that it arrived on their own ground, in front of their own supporters.
Solanki acknowledged RCB's superiority on the day with grace, conceding that the better side won while also highlighting the genuine fight his players showed in defence. The IPL 2026 final will serve as a sharp lesson in reading conditions correctly, and GT will reflect on this missed opportunity for some time to come.
“I think we probably just made a slight miscalculation, actually, of what score was appropriate on that pitch. I don't think it was a 200-plus pitch,” said Solanki in the post-match press conference.
“…If we had got somewhere around that 180 mark, I think that would have been a challenging total for them to chase,” he added.
“I think we were probably 20-25 runs short, but it was exceptional to see the fight and the hunger the guys showed to bring that game to a close to the finish.
“We had an opportunity to challenge RCB in parts, but they were the better side today, and I think that's just as simple as it is,” he said.
