Royal Challengers Bengaluru successfully defended their Indian Premier League crown after defeating Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 final, with Virat Kohli delivering a memorable performance under pressure. Chasing a target of 156, RCB completed the victory with two overs remaining to secure their second consecutive championship.
Kohli produced one of his most aggressive innings of the season when his team needed it most. The experienced batter reached the fastest IPL half century of his career and continued attacking the Gujarat Titans bowling unit despite appearing to struggle with an injury during the chase. With running between the wickets becoming increasingly difficult, Kohli relied on powerful boundary hitting to keep RCB firmly in control.
The run chase started at a rapid pace as Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer placed immediate pressure on the Gujarat bowlers. Kagiso Rabada faced an early assault as RCB raced to 55 without loss after four overs. Venkatesh contributed an important 32 runs from 16 deliveries before Mohammed Siraj removed him, but the strong opening stand ensured that Bengaluru remained comfortably ahead of the required scoring rate.
Gujarat Titans briefly attempted to fight back through Rashid Khan, who dismissed captain Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya in the same over. Rabada also removed Devdutt Padikkal, while Arshad Khan later dismissed Tim David. However, Kohli maintained his composure and ensured that the pressure never shifted back onto RCB. He sealed the championship in style by hitting a straight six from the final delivery of the 18th over.
Earlier in the match, RCB’s bowling unit restricted Gujarat Titans to 155. Josh Hazlewood provided an early breakthrough by removing Shubman Gill for 10, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed B Sai Sudharsan for 12. Rasikh Salam, Krunal Pandya and the rest of Bengaluru’s attack continued to apply pressure as Gujarat struggled to build momentum during the middle overs.
Gujarat’s batting lineup found it difficult to score boundaries after the powerplay. Jos Buttler was dismissed for 19 from 23 deliveries after Jitesh Sharma completed an impressive stumping off Krunal Pandya. Arshad Khan attempted to revive the innings with an attacking cameo, but Hazlewood removed him before he could produce a larger contribution.
The victory confirms RCB’s status as one of the leading teams in the current IPL era. After winning the championship in 2025, Bengaluru returned to the final and delivered another composed performance on the biggest stage. Kohli’s match defining innings added another major chapter to his IPL career and helped RCB lift the trophy for the second year in a row.
According to ESPNcricinfo’s live match coverage, Kohli also completed the season with 648 runs at a strike rate of 167.01, underlining his continued impact as one of the tournament’s most influential batters.
