Royal Challengers Bengaluru have done it again. Rajat Patidar‘s side defeated Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the IPL 2026 final at Ahmedabad on Sunday night to claim back-to-back Indian Premier League titles — a feat that would have seemed unthinkable just two years ago for a franchise that spent decades as cricket’s most famous nearly team. Virat Kohli, unbeaten on 75, was the architect of the chase. The man who helped build the IPL into what it is today finally has two winners’ medals to show for it.
RCB won the toss and elected to bowl — a decision vindicated almost immediately. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood removed Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan cheaply, Jos Buttler and Nishant Sindhu failed to capitalise on their opportunities, and Gujarat were wobbling until Washington Sundar dragged them to respectability with a composed 50 off 37 balls. Rasikh Salam Dar was the pick of the RCB bowlers with three wickets, while Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar took two apiece. Gujarat’s total of 155 for eight always looked competitive on Ahmedabad’s surface — but never quite enough.
GUJARAT: 155/8 (20.0)
BENGALURU: 161/5 (18.0)
Kohli’s Fastest IPL Fifty Ends the Contest
The chase began at a gallop. Venkatesh Iyer struck 32 off just 16 balls before Gujarat’s bowlers pulled things back, dismissing Devdutt Padikkal, Patidar himself, and Krunal Pandya in quick succession to make the final stages tense. But Kohli was immovable at the other end. He reached his half-century off 25 balls — the fastest fifty of his IPL career — and a crucial partnership with Tim David removed any remaining doubt. RCB crossed the target in 18 overs with five wickets to spare.
Rashid Khan took two wickets and was as difficult to score off as ever, but even the world’s best spinner could not stop a Kohli who looked utterly at peace with the moment.
For Patidar, the victory completes a remarkable captaincy record. Both of RCB’s IPL titles have come under his leadership, both on the same Ahmedabad ground, both against credible opposition. Last year it was Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings. This year, Shubman Gill’s Gujarat Titans. Same captain, same venue, same result.
Tournament Honours
The individual awards from IPL 2026 reflected some extraordinary performances across the competition. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, just 15 years old, claimed the Orange Cap after scoring 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.31 — numbers that belong to a different category of cricketer entirely, let alone a teenager. Kagiso Rabada took the Purple Cap with 29 wickets for Gujarat Titans across the tournament.
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