Aussies Josh Hazlewood and Tim David will feature in the 2026 Indian Premier League final
Josh Hazlewood has booked himself a return to the Indian Premier League final, and now waits to see if Pat Cummins will join him.
Hazlewood’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru thrashed Gujarat Titans in the first playoff qualifier by 92 runs, but the match was even more one-sided than that margin suggests.
The defending champions smashed 5-254 with Rajat Patidar thumping 93 not out from 33 balls then reduced Titans – who finished second to them in the regular season on net run rate – to 8-88.
With Rahul Tewatia making 68 off 43 Gujarat managed to reach 162 before being dismissed in the last over but the match was long gone.
Hazlewood himself had modest figures of 1-39, but he took the key wicket of Jos Buttler who was launching a counter-attack with 29 off 10 balls before being bowled by the NSW quick.
RCB now progress to Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad while Titans have a second chance on Friday when they meet the winner of Wednesday’s eliminator between Sunrisers Hyderabad, featuring Cummins and Travis Head, and Rajasthan Royals.
Put in to bat, Bengaluru dominated the powerplay to reach 1-76 with veteran Virat Kohli making 43. Krunal Pandya (43 off 28) and Patidar then capitalised on favourable batting conditions at the picturesque Dharamsala ground in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Gujarat did not help their cause, putting down chances and conceding easy runs through sloppy fielding.
Patidar, who was dropped by Kagiso Rabada on 20, made the most of the reprieve smacking 69 off his last 19 balls as 126 runs came from the last seven overs. Uncharacteristically the only failure was Tim David with an edged four his only runs in five balls.
He did however, take the game-sealing catch with a sprawling effort running around from mid off.
An early collapse to 5-51 in the Powerplay undercut Gujarat’s reply. It did not help when opener Sai Sudharsan (14) slashed a ball from Jacob Duffy to the backward point boundary only to spill his bat onto the stumps in his follow-through.
Rasikh Dar’s double-wicket maiden was a highlight of the first six overs, while New Zealand’s Duffy returned figures of 3-39.
It will be Hazlewood’s third IPL final having previous won with Chennai Super Kings (2021) and RCB (2025) while David missed last year’s final with a hamstring injury.
– with Reuters
IPL 2026 standings
Australians in IPL 2026
Chennai Super Kings: Matt Short ($255k), Spencer Johnson ($255k, replaces Nathan Ellis ($340k))
Delhi Capitals: Mitchell Starc ($2m)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Josh Hazlewood ($2.13m), Tim David ($510k)
Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis ($1.9m), Ben Dwarshuis ($745k), Mitchell Owen ($510k), Cooper Connolly ($510k), Xavier Bartlett ($136k)
Kolkata Knight Riders: Cameron Green ($3.5m)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins ($3.5m), Travis Head ($2.38m), Jack Edwards ($510k, withdrawn)
Lucknow Super Giants: Josh Inglis ($1.49m), Mitchell Marsh ($578k)
