GT bowling attack stronger than RCB's: Virender Sehwag names Qualifier 1 X-factor
IPL 2026: Virender Sehwag has said Gujarat Titans carry a stronger bowling attack than Royal Challengers Bengaluru into Qualifier 1. His warning follows RCB's expensive outing against Sunrisers Hyderabad and sharpens focus on how both attacks handle playoff pressure.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag believes Gujarat Titans head into Qualifier 1 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru with the stronger bowling attack, warning that RCB’s bowling struggles against Sunrisers Hyderabad could become a serious concern heading into the IPL 2026 playoffs. Sehwag, however, also backed RCB to treat the SRH defeat as just a rare off-day rather than panic too much before the biggest match of their season.
RCB secured a top-two finish despite suffering a heavy 55-run defeat against SRH in their final league-stage match, where their bowling attack endured one of its toughest nights of the season. Speaking on Cricbuzz ahead of the playoff clash, Sehwag said RCB would hope that performance was merely a bad day and not the beginning of a bigger issue.
“That could be just a rare off-day, so they should accept that they had a bad day where Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood both did not pick up any wickets, no one bowled well that day,” Sehwag said.
“So, they should look to forget that and move on. But if it happens again in the playoffs, they might concede more than 255 there, because the boundaries are quite short. So, it is important for RCB that their bowling works, because GT's bowling is quite good. RCB have to be careful.”
The warning comes at a crucial stage of the season, especially with Gujarat Titans carrying one of the most balanced pace attacks in IPL 2026 into the playoffs.
WHY GT'S BOWLING ATTACK STANDS OUT
Much of Gujarat Titans’ dominance this season has come from the consistency of Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada with the new ball.
Rabada heads into the playoffs with 24 wickets in 14 matches at an economy of 9.19, while Siraj has picked up 17 wickets in his 14 games with an economy of 8.59.
The duo has particularly dominated inside the powerplay overs.
Rabada equalled Mohammed Shami’s IPL record for most powerplay wickets in a single season after taking 17 wickets inside the first six overs during IPL 2026. Siraj, meanwhile, removed 13 batters in the powerplay and has bowled a staggering 148 dot balls in just 306 deliveries this season — the most by any bowler in the tournament.
Together, they have repeatedly allowed Gujarat Titans to dictate matches early by strangling opposition batting line-ups before the middle overs even begin.
One of the best examples came during GT’s crushing 89-run victory over Chennai Super Kings, where Siraj dismantled the top order inside the powerplay before Rabada tightened the pressure from the other end.
GT assistant coach Vijay Dahiya had recently described the chemistry between Siraj and Rabada as “phenomenal”, saying the two bowlers understand each other “mentally and skill-wise”.
RCB BOWLING UNDER PRESSURE
While RCB possess experienced names like Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, their bowling performances have fluctuated sharply throughout IPL 2026.
RCB have conceded totals of more than 200 runs in half the matches they have played this season, exposing a recurring issue despite Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar individually enjoying strong campaigns.
That concern became even more visible during the defeat against SRH, where Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar leaked a combined 106 runs in eight overs as Hyderabad piled up 255.
Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen attacked RCB relentlessly, particularly exposing their lengths during the middle overs and death phase.
The playoff pressure now becomes even bigger because Dharamsala has also produced high-scoring contests this season, with shorter boundaries likely to heavily favour aggressive batting sides again.
However, RCB will still draw confidence from their batting strength led by Virat Kohli, Phil Salt and captain Rajat Patidar, while Gujarat Titans continue to rely heavily on their balanced bowling attack and the consistency of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan at the top.
With a direct place in the IPL 2026 final at stake, the Qualifier 1 clash could now ultimately come down to which bowling attack handles the pressure better.
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Former India opener Virender Sehwag believes Gujarat Titans head into Qualifier 1 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru with the stronger bowling attack, warning that RCB’s bowling struggles against Sunrisers Hyderabad could become a serious concern heading into the IPL 2026 playoffs. Sehwag, however, also backed RCB to treat the SRH defeat as just a rare off-day rather than panic too much before the biggest match of their season.
RCB secured a top-two finish despite suffering a heavy 55-run defeat against SRH in their final league-stage match, where their bowling attack endured one of its toughest nights of the season. Speaking on Cricbuzz ahead of the playoff clash, Sehwag said RCB would hope that performance was merely a bad day and not the beginning of a bigger issue.
“That could be just a rare off-day, so they should accept that they had a bad day where Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood both did not pick up any wickets, no one bowled well that day,” Sehwag said.
“So, they should look to forget that and move on. But if it happens again in the playoffs, they might concede more than 255 there, because the boundaries are quite short. So, it is important for RCB that their bowling works, because GT's bowling is quite good. RCB have to be careful.”
The warning comes at a crucial stage of the season, especially with Gujarat Titans carrying one of the most balanced pace attacks in IPL 2026 into the playoffs.
WHY GT'S BOWLING ATTACK STANDS OUT
Much of Gujarat Titans’ dominance this season has come from the consistency of Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada with the new ball.
Rabada heads into the playoffs with 24 wickets in 14 matches at an economy of 9.19, while Siraj has picked up 17 wickets in his 14 games with an economy of 8.59.
The duo has particularly dominated inside the powerplay overs.
Rabada equalled Mohammed Shami’s IPL record for most powerplay wickets in a single season after taking 17 wickets inside the first six overs during IPL 2026. Siraj, meanwhile, removed 13 batters in the powerplay and has bowled a staggering 148 dot balls in just 306 deliveries this season — the most by any bowler in the tournament.
Together, they have repeatedly allowed Gujarat Titans to dictate matches early by strangling opposition batting line-ups before the middle overs even begin.
One of the best examples came during GT’s crushing 89-run victory over Chennai Super Kings, where Siraj dismantled the top order inside the powerplay before Rabada tightened the pressure from the other end.
GT assistant coach Vijay Dahiya had recently described the chemistry between Siraj and Rabada as “phenomenal”, saying the two bowlers understand each other “mentally and skill-wise”.
RCB BOWLING UNDER PRESSURE
While RCB possess experienced names like Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, their bowling performances have fluctuated sharply throughout IPL 2026.
RCB have conceded totals of more than 200 runs in half the matches they have played this season, exposing a recurring issue despite Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar individually enjoying strong campaigns.
That concern became even more visible during the defeat against SRH, where Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar leaked a combined 106 runs in eight overs as Hyderabad piled up 255.
Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen attacked RCB relentlessly, particularly exposing their lengths during the middle overs and death phase.
The playoff pressure now becomes even bigger because Dharamsala has also produced high-scoring contests this season, with shorter boundaries likely to heavily favour aggressive batting sides again.
However, RCB will still draw confidence from their batting strength led by Virat Kohli, Phil Salt and captain Rajat Patidar, while Gujarat Titans continue to rely heavily on their balanced bowling attack and the consistency of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan at the top.
With a direct place in the IPL 2026 final at stake, the Qualifier 1 clash could now ultimately come down to which bowling attack handles the pressure better.
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