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Ahmedabad . Virat Kohli once again proved why he is called the greatest player in big matches. On the basis of his unbeaten 75 runs and the disciplined performance of the bowlers, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won the Indian Premier League (IPL) title for the second consecutive time by defeating Gujarat Titans (GT) by five wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. Kohli was also the ‘Player of the Match’.

In the final of IPL 2026, RCB left Gujarat behind in every department and achieved the target of 156 runs by losing five wickets in 18 overs. With this victory, captain Rajat Patidar joined the list of select captains who have successfully defended the IPL title. Now his name has also been registered in this list along with Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma.

Kohli-Venkatesh broke Gujarat’s morale in the beginning itself

Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer gave a stormy start to RCB while chasing the target of 156 runs. In the second over itself, both the batsmen attacked Kagiso Rabada. Rabada scored 18 runs in that over and the trend of the match turned towards RCB in the initial moments itself.

Kohli controlled the innings in his familiar style, while Venkatesh batted aggressively. Both of them put Gujarat bowlers under pressure by adding 62 runs in just 4.3 overs.

However, after this the wickets of Venkatesh Iyer and Devdutt Padikkal fell. Captain Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya also could not last long, due to which RCB’s score became 91/4. But on the other hand Kohli stood firm like a rock.

Wall becomes huge in crisis

Gujarat saw hope of a comeback when RCB lost some quick wickets, but Kohli made full use of his experience. He completed his fifth half-century of the season by hitting a four off Arshad Khan.

Tim David provided excellent support to Kohli by scoring 24 runs in 17 balls. During this time, Kohli also got a lease of life when Shubman Gill caught him off the ball of Arshad Khan, but in the TV replays the ball was seen touching the grass and he was declared not out.

After this Kohli did not make any mistake. He ended the match by hitting a brilliant six off Arshad Khan and celebrations started in the RCB camp. His unbeaten inning of 75 runs played in 42 balls once again showed that there is hardly anyone better than him as a chase master in big matches.

Bowlers laid a strong foundation for victory

Earlier, Gujarat Titans, who came to bat after winning the toss, had a very disappointing start. On the slow pitch of Narendra Modi Stadium with mixed red and black soil, RCB bowlers did not give the batsmen a chance to play freely with the correct line-length.

Gujarat had high expectations from captain Shubhman Gill and Sai Sudarshan, but both the star batsmen flopped in the final. Gill tried to play a big shot on Josh Hazlewood’s ball, but the ball took the upper edge of the bat and went into the hands of captain Rajat Patidar. Whereas Sai Sudarshan, who was earlier given life by DRS, was caught by wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma on the short ball of Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

By the end of the powerplay, Gujarat’s score was only 45 runs for two wickets. This was a very disappointing start for him.

Washington Sundar’s struggle in vain

After the top order flop, Jos Buttler and Washington Sundar tried to handle the innings. Butler scored 19 runs while Sundar stayed till the end and scored unbeaten 50 runs in 37 balls with the help of five fours.

However, he did not get any special support from the other end. Young fast bowler Rasik Salam Dar bowled brilliantly and dismissed Nishant Sindhu and Rahul Tewatia. Rasik dashed Gujarat’s hopes of a comeback by taking three wickets.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar took two wickets while Josh Hazlewood also achieved two wickets. Gujarat’s batting can be gauged from the fact that the team had to wait till the 13th over to hit the first six of its innings. Arshad Khan ended the wait by hitting a six over midwicket off Krunal Pandya.

But by then it was too late. Gujarat team could score only 155 runs for eight wickets in 20 overs.

Patidar’s smile and Kohli’s celebration

As soon as Kohli hit the winning six, the RCB dugout erupted with joy. Captain Rajat Patidar, who usually looked calm, also had a big smile on his face. Fellow players ran on the field and first surrounded Virat Kohli, who has been the heartbeat of this franchise since 2008.

This final was entirely in the name of RCB. The bowlers tied Gujarat down, the batsmen did not allow the pressure to build and Virat Kohli stood till the end and wrote the script of another memorable victory.