Rahul Tewatia's second IPL fifty goes in vain: Key stats
What's the story
Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru made light work of the IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 against Gujarat Titans at Dharamsala's HPCA Stadium. Riding on an unbeaten 93 (33) from skipper Rajat Patidar, RCB racked up 254/5, the highest-ever total in IPL playoff history. A concerted bowling effort later helped RCB restrict GT to 162. Rahul Tewatia showed a fighting spirit with his second IPL fifty.
Effort
Rahul Tewatia's lone effort after collapse
GT, who had a mountain to climb, lost their top three in the Powerplay. They slumped to 51/5, losing their most wickets in the Powerplay in IPL history. As GT were down and out at 88/8, Tewatia delayed their defeat. He initially farmed the strike before going all out. With the required run rate out of reach, Tewatia showed his usual leg-side strokes.
Milestone
Second fifty in IPL
Tewatia batted for nearly seven overs with Mohammed Siraj, who just had to farm the non-striker's end. Taking GT past 150, the former eventually raced to his second half-century in the IPL. Tewatia's 43-ball 68 was finally ended by Bhuvneshwar (8 fours and 4 sixes). He now has 1,278 runs from 122 IPL games with a strike rate of 137.56.
Information
Second-highest ninth-wicket stand in IPL
Tewatia added 68 runs with Siraj, forming the second-highest ninth-wicket partnership in IPL history, according to Cricbuzz. They are only behind Rashid Khan and Alzarri Joseph (88* for GT vs MI, Wankhede, 2023).