In the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 final, the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) took on the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. RCB made it two back-to-back wins of the IPL as Virat Kohli finished the game off in style and became the third team to defend the title.
Rajat Patidar won the toss and elected to field first, as they played the same team from their last game. However, Shubman Gill made one change, bringing in Arshad Khan in place of R Sai Kishore. The stadium was jam-packed with fans who came in large numbers to support their respective teams.
After being put into bat first, Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan had a breezy start, but the GT captain went back early for 10 runs, and Sai soon followed on the score of 12 runs as the RCB bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were on top. Jos Buttler, who played a relatively contrasting knock of 19 runs off 23 balls, as the wickets kept on tumbling for the Titans.
Virat Kohli special in the final
There was a controversial moment as Washington Sundar survived after a catch taken by Jordan Cox was given not out after the ball landed and touched the ground. Sundar got a small support from Arshad, 15 off 6 balls, as the former played a good knock on the night and brought his fifty in 37 balls. He remained unbeaten in the innings as the Titans posted 155/8 in their 20 overs.
Venkatesh Iyer and Virat Kohli were off to an excellent start. The former played a knock of 32 off 16 deliveries and put RCB in the driver’s seat. He was dismissed by Mohammed Siraj, and soon Devdutt Padikkal went back without troubling the GT bowlers. Patidar also went back early on 15, and Krunal Pandya followed in the same over of Rashid Khan.
Kohli brought up his fifty in 25 balls and kept RCB in the run chase as it was his fastest half-century. Tim David was out on 24 off 17 balls, but Kohli remained unbeaten with a score of 75 runs as he finished the game off in style with a six.
Thought of this moment many times- Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli won the Player of the Match award for his exceptional innings of 75 runs. He was excellent during the match and played with a possible hamstring injury. He said, "It's stuff that you dream of. Thought of this moment many times, to win the IPL and stand here. The kind of team you gives you the confidence to see off any kind of situation.
"Such is the demand of the sport today. You have these young players pushing you hard and asking you to get better. You need to get those 20-30 runs extra. I had to change my mindset, not so much by game, to get those runs. The target was to finish top of the table. A lot of people asked who we would prefer to play in the play."
"But we didn't care of the jersey in front of us. We are a professional group. They probably looked to get me out early but I had the confidence that even if I get out there is enough depth in the side to pull it off. There was total clarity and both of us wanted to strike. We had small targets in mind."
"Credit to Venkatesh as well. Stepped in and did a beautiful job. I always say that we don't have just 7 home games we have 14. GT are the home team here but probably 90% are RCB fans."
Also Read: IPL 2026 Award Winners: Complete List of Prize Winners After RCB vs GT Final
