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Former Australia cricketer and current Lucknow Super Giants global director of cricket Tom Moody believes Gujarat Titans were badly exposed on a flat batting surface during their crushing defeat to defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2026 Qualifier 1. RCB booked their place in a second straight IPL final after producing a complete domination in Dharamsala on Tuesday. Led by a sensational unbeaten 93 from captain Rajat Patidar, Bengaluru piled up a record playoff total of 254/5 before bowling Gujarat out for 162 to seal a massive 92-run victory. Analysing the one-sided contest on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show, Moody explained that Gujarat’s bowling attack becomes highly predictable on batting-friendly wickets where there is little seam movement or swing available. “Their predictability is hurting them when the conditions are not to their liking,” Moody said. He compared Gujarat’s bowling struggles to the batting issues faced by Sunrisers Hyderabad on difficult pitches, suggesting both teams rely heavily on specific conditions to dominate games. “It’s a bit like Sunrisers Hyderabad. When the surface starts doing a little bit, their batting line-up struggles. Gujarat are almost the bowling version of that,” Moody explained. According to Moody, GT’s pace-heavy attack becomes dangerous only when the pitch offers assistance. He pointed out that bowlers like Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada are at their best when they can attack hard lengths with movement through the air or off the surface. “When there’s movement in the pitch, Siraj and Rabada become extremely difficult to face because they hit those hard lengths and create problems both inside and outside the bat,” he said. “But on a very flat surface like this one, they become vulnerable because they don’t have extreme change-ups, slower balls, or deception as their main strength,” Moody added. RCB recognised those limitations early and attacked relentlessly from the start. Virat Kohli laid the platform with a quickfire 43, while Devdutt Padikkal kept the scoring rate high during a brisk partnership worth 72 runs. Although Jason Holder briefly brought Gujarat back into the game with two wickets in three balls, Patidar and Krunal Pandya completely shifted the momentum with a brutal 95-run stand off just 47 deliveries. Moody also stressed that Gujarat lack bowlers who can consistently deceive batters with slower balls and variations on flat decks. “They don’t really have those slower-ball specialists or bowlers with deceptive pace changes who can consistently create doubt in the batter’s mind on flat wickets,” Moody said. “That’s why on surfaces where the ball is not doing much, teams can line them up more comfortably,” he added. GT’s problems were further compounded by a poor fielding display. Dropped catches, misfields and extra runs allowed RCB to race away towards the highest total ever recorded in IPL playoff history. Captain Shubman Gill admitted after the match that Gujarat were not good enough under pressure, especially in the field. In reply, the Titans were never truly in the chase after collapsing to 51/5 inside the powerplay. Rahul Tewatia fought hard with a defiant 68, but the damage had already been done as RCB’s bowling attack completed a dominant all-round performance. While Bengaluru now head into the IPL 2026 final full of confidence, Gujarat Titans must quickly regroup before their next knockout clash in Chandigarh.
