Ahmedabad dawned bright and sunny on Sunday, but the local met department has issued a yellow alert for parts of the state, indicating high windspeed and possible thunderstorms on what is the day of the IPL 2026 final between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT), the home side.

The city has been reeling under a heatwave, with temperatures reaching a high of 43.1 degrees Celsius on Saturday, leading to severe heatwave warnings. While rainfall is only expected to hit areas in and around Ahmedabad properly on June 1, rain interruptions during Sunday’s final can’t be ruled out.

The IPL reserves a day in case of weather or other interruptions on the designated day of the final, but in this case, Monday is expected to be wetter, based on the forecast. That said, attempts will always be made to complate the match, even a curtailed one, on Sunday itself. In case the final cannot be completed over two days, RCB will be declared winners by virtue of finishing higher than GT on the league stage points table.

In 2023, the IPL final involving GT and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had to be pushed to a reserve day following thunderstorms that caused flooding in parts of the city on the night of the final.

Rain and thunderstorms had also delayed GT’s arrival back home following their win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 2 on Friday. The squad landed in Ahmedabad close to 11pm on Saturday night after inclement weather in north-western India led to temporary closure of runways in Chandigarh, which the team was flying out of, delaying or diverting several flights.

Both sides are seeking to win their second IPL title. GT, champions of 2022, have previously made two finals, while RCB won the title in their fourth attempt last year in Ahmedabad when they beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) to break an 18-year drought.