Kohli's unbeaten 75 lifts RCB to back-to-back IPL titles
Kohli’s 75 not out drove RCB past Gujarat Titans, and a year after their first crown, the franchise joined elite IPL company.
Virat Kohli delivered the innings that turned Royal Challengers Bengaluru from first-time champions into a franchise with staying power, scoring an unbeaten 75 off 42 balls as RCB beat Gujarat Titans by five wickets to win the IPL 2026 final.
At the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, RCB chased 156 and finished on 161/5 with 12 balls to spare. The result gave the club its second straight IPL title, making it only the third franchise in league history to win back-to-back championships after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. It also extended a remarkable transformation: RCB had waited 18 years for their first title, then defended it within 12 months.
Kohli’s innings carried the chase from control to authority. He was named player of the match after compiling the highest playoff score of his career and, by reports from the final, his fastest IPL fifty. Venkatesh Iyer added 32 in a useful support role, ensuring the pressure did not drift back to Gujarat Titans once RCB settled into the chase.
Gujarat Titans had put up 155/8 after Washington Sundar top-scored with an unbeaten 50. RCB’s attack kept the total within reach, with Rasikh Salam taking 3/27, Bhuvneshwar Kumar finishing with 2/29 and Josh Hazlewood returning 2/37. That discipline gave Kohli and RCB a target that looked manageable rather than daunting, even in front of a near-capacity crowd of more than 100,000 in Ahmedabad.
The broader meaning of the victory went beyond a single final. For Kohli, it sharpened his place in T20 history as the face of a title-winning side that no longer depends on sentiment alone. For RCB, it marked a shift from a long-pursued first breakthrough to a more durable identity, one built on successive titles and the authority of a team that has learned how to win again.
Rajat Patidar, leading a side that now carries the burden and confidence of champions, dedicated the title to fans who died in a stampede after last year’s celebrations. Chennai Super Kings also publicly congratulated RCB, a sign of how quickly the new order at the top of the IPL has been recognized.
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