AHMEDABAD: Shrugging off a mid-innings injury scare, India veteran Virat Kohli unleashed a batting masterclass to guide Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a commanding five-wicket victory over the Gujarat Titans on Sunday, successfully retaining their Indian Premier League (IPL) title.
Bengaluru, who famously broke a 17-season drought to clinch their maiden IPL trophy last year, carried that championship momentum straight into the 2026 season. Chasing a modest target of 156, RCB cruised across the finish line with ease in just 18 overs.
Titans Smothered by Disciplined Bengaluru Bowling
Sent in to bat first, the Gujarat Titans never found their rhythm against an incisive and highly disciplined Bengaluru bowling unit. The defending champions dominated the powerplay, removing Gujarat’s in-form openers early and restricting them to a sub-par 155-8 in front of a packed Narendra Modi Stadium heavily awash in RCB red.
Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan fell early, leaving Gujarat stuttering at 45-2 in the opening six overs. While Washington Sundar fought back with a resilient, unbeaten 50 off 37 deliveries, he lacked meaningful support from the other end. Bengaluru’s bowlers choked the run flow completely, with none conceding more than 10 runs an over. Rasikh Dar led the wreckage with three wickets, while veterans Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood chipped in with two scalps each.
“I think if we would have gotten close to 180-190, it would have been a good match,” Gujarat captain Shubman Gill admitted after the game. “We lost a couple of early wickets and then we kind of lost the momentum in the middle.”
The Kohli Show Decides the Crown
Bengaluru made light work of the 156-run chase. The tone was set early in the powerplay by Kohli and an aggressive Venkatesh Iyer (32 off 16), rocket-launching the score to 70-2.
Living up to his iconic ‘Chase Master’ moniker, the 37-year-old Kohli tore the Titans’ bowling attack apart. He brought up his fastest-ever IPL fifty en route to an unbeaten 75 off just 42 balls, punctuated by nine boundaries and three towering sixes. The blistering knock pushed his staggering tournament tally to 68 half-centuries and nine hundreds.
RCB faced a brief hiccup when premier spinner Rashid Khan struck twice in the same over, but Kohli anchored the innings alongside Tim David (24 off 17). Even a right-leg injury after the 12th over—which required heavy medical strapping on the field—could not slow Kohli down. He ultimately sealed the championship in emphatic style by launching a six off the final ball of the 18th over.
“Such is the demand of the sport today. You have these super young players pushing you all the time and asking you to change your game and up the ante,” a reflective Kohli said after receiving the Player of the Match honors. “It’s an exciting situation because it gives you something to improve on… I just take a lot of pride in getting better.”
With this emphatic victory, Royal Challengers Bengaluru firmly establish their era of dominance, becoming back-to-back champions of the IPL.
