RCB win IPL 2026 title in style as five-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans seals second successive Indian Premier League triumph RCB made history in the 2025 season after waiting 18 years to finally win their maiden title, becoming only the third franchise to achieve back-to-back IPL titles.
RCB captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and invited GT to bat, a disciplined bowling effort then ensured that was how the final played out. Riding on a slightly sticky pitch, Gujarat Titans stuttered to 155/8 in their 20 overs. RCB fast bowlers were at it again, Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rasikh Salam coming up with the big breakthroughs at important times.
Hazlewood provided the ideal breakthrough for RCB when he got Gujarat captain Shubman Gill out early on in the innings. Bhuvi then sent B Sai Sudharsan back and that put Titans under pressure in the powerplay. Krunal Pandya and Rasikh Salam came into their own during the middle overs with tidy lines mixed in with clever variations. Stuffing another blow to Gujarat’s hopes, Krunal removed Jos Buttler with the first ball of his new over, and he then finished up with superb figures of 3 for 27.
Washington Sundar made a valiant fifty even as wickets kept tumbling around him. With that unbeaten 50, Gujarat produced a competitive total but quite clearly, not enough against an ever-powerful RCB side.
RCB started off with a shooting eye chasing 156 on Venkatesh Iyer. Iyer, who was playing with a knee injury that he got while fielding earlier in the innings, attacked from the very beginning and scored 32 runs off just 16 balls. That played a part in keeping the required run rate well under control with his aggressive brand of batting.
But the biggest attraction was Virat Kohli. The veteran batter produced one of the best knocks of his IPL career, scoring an unbeaten 75. Kohli started off with intent and notched up his fastest IPL fifty along the way. He dismantled Kagiso Rabada and the Gujarat bowlers, batting with an air of confidence, as RCB remained on track in their chase even as some other wickets were tumbling at the other end.
It was, quite aptly, left to Kohli to seal the win in style, hitting a four and then six – with two overs still left in the contest. The victory caps another astonishing season for the RCB icon, who ended with 675 runs at an excellent strike rate of 165.84.
With the bat and ball firing in tandem, RCB once again showed why they were the team to beat in IPL 2026 as they successfully defended their crown while establishing themselves amongst the league giants.
