The 2026 season of the Indian Premier League has reached its business end and the stage is set for the ultimate clash of the year. We have the defending champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, locking horns with the Gujarat Titans for the coveted trophy on Sunday, May 31 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The Rajat Patidar-led side paved their way through to the finals by securing first spot in the standings in the points table and defeating the Titans in the Qualifier 1.
On the other hand, the Titans handed a seven-wicket loss to the Rajasthan Royals in the Qualifier 2 to book a berth against the defending champions. Talking about their appearances in the finale, the Royal Challengers have made it to the summit clash for the second time in a row, whereas the last time that the Titans appeared in the finale was in 2023 for the second consecutive time. They had come off a championship year, but suffered a defeat to the Chennai Super Kings in a rain-affected game.
So, what if IPL 2026 also gets washed out? Let’s find out.
What if rain washes away IPL 2026 clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans?
While Qualifiers and Eliminators don’t have the provision of reserve days, the IPL has one for the finale. In the case of IPL Finale on May 31, June 1 (Monday) will be the reserve day. It means if the match that starts on Sunday gets halted or delayed due to the rain, then the match will continue on the reserve day and pick up from where the game left off. However, if the game on reserve day also gets washed out, then the Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be crowned as the IPL 2026 champions as they finished the league stage higher in the standings.
Notably, the Virat Kohli featuring side finished the league stage in the first spot with 18 points from 14 games (NRR of +0.783) whereas Shubman Gill and Co. were second with the same points but an NRR of +0.695. In case Bengaluru wins the trophy on Sunday, they will become the second team to do so in a consecutive year since Chennai Super Kings in 2011.
