Former India opener Virender Sehwag believes Gujarat Titans has a great advantage over it Royal Challengers Bengaluru Much awaited is ahead in the bowling department Classification 1 collide IPL 2026. According to Sehwag, Gujarat’s disciplined and consistent pace attack gives them an edge in pressure situations, while RCB’s bowling unit still carries question marks despite the team’s top two positions.
The former India all-rounder pointed to GT’s ability to dominate games, particularly during the powerplay overs, which he felt has separated them from several teams this season. Sehwag also warned that RCB’s recent bowling collapse against Sunrisers Hyderabad should not be completely ignored, even if the franchise chooses to treat it as an off-day.
RCB’s inconsistent bowling worries Virender Sehwag
RCB entered the playoffs after a crushing 55-run defeat against SRH in their last league stage game. Hyderabad piled up a massive 255 runs in the crucial phase of the tournament, exposing Bengaluru’s bowling weakness. Even though they have experienced bowlers like RCB Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar KumarSehwag believes the side has struggled to maintain consistency throughout the season. The team scored over 200 in almost half of their matches, reflecting a recurring problem rather than an isolated concern.
Against SRH, Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar had a particularly difficult performance, conceding a combined 106 runs in eight overs without taking a wicket. Sehwag said RCB hoped such a performance would remain a one-off, but he also stressed that another similar display in the playoffs could prove disastrous.
He explained that the shorter boundaries and high-scoring conditions in the knockout games could increase the pressure on RCB’s bowlers. According to Sehwag, if Bengaluru fail to control the scoring rate early, the strong batting sides can take the game away from them again.
“It could be a rare off day, so Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood both have to accept that they had a bad day where they didn’t take any wickets, nobody played well that day.” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
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Explain why GT has a stronger bowling attack
Sehwag specifically praised the pace attack of the Gujarat Titans led by him Kagiso Rabada and Muhammad Siraj. The duo has been instrumental in GT’s successful IPL 2026 campaign, regularly dismantling the opposition batting line-up in the power play. Rabada has had an excellent season with 24 wickets in 14 matches and has consistently improved with the new ball. The South African pacer equaled the IPL record for most power plays in a season with 17 wickets in the first six overs.
And Siraj complemented Rabada perfectly with his precision and relentless pressure. He has scored 17 goals this season, maintaining an impressive economy. More importantly, Siraj scored a dot-ball 148 off just 306 deliveries, the highest ever in the tournament.
Sehwag believes that the ability to stifle these runs and attack at the same time gives GT a stronger and more balanced bowling unit than RCB. He noted that the Gujarat bowlers have consistently allowed the team to dictate matches early on, which has eased the pressure on their middle innings and batting department.
“So they have to forget about it and move on. But if it happens again in the playoffs, they can concede more than 255 there because the boundaries are quite short. So it’s important for RCB that their bowling works because GT’s bowling is pretty good. RCB have to be careful,” Sehwag added.
