Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) successfully defended their Indian Premier League crown with a five-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Chasing 156 for victory, RCB reached 161/5 in 18 overs, with Virat Kohli anchoring the innings through an unbeaten 75 off 42 deliveries. The former India captain completed the chase in style, striking a six off the final ball of the 18th over after first levelling the scores with a boundary.
The triumph made Bengaluru only the third franchise in IPL history to win consecutive titles, joining Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. RCB had also lifted the trophy in Ahmedabad in 2025 after defeating Punjab Kings in the final.
RCB’s chase began aggressively as impact player Venkatesh Iyer and Kohli added 62 runs for the opening wicket in just 27 balls. Iyer scored 32 from 16 deliveries before Mohammed Siraj provided Gujarat Titans with their first breakthrough.
Despite losing Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya in quick succession, Bengaluru remained in control thanks to Kohli’s composed innings. Tim David contributed a valuable 24 off 17 balls before Kohli and Jitesh Sharma guided the side home without further alarms.
Earlier, Gujarat Titans struggled to build momentum after being put in to bat. The side lost captain Shubman Gill (10), Sai Sudharsan (12) and Nishant Sindhu (20) before the halfway stage. Jos Buttler also failed to convert his start, departing for 19.
Washington Sundar stood out for Gujarat with an unbeaten 50 from 37 balls. He received brief support from Arshad Khan and Jason Holder as Gujarat posted 155/8 from their 20 overs.
Rasikh Salam emerged as Bengaluru’s most effective bowler, claiming 3/27. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood took two wickets each, while Krunal Pandya chipped in with one scalp.
The season’s leading run-scorer, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, finished with the Orange Cap after accumulating 776 runs in 16 matches. Gujarat Titans batters Shubman Gill (732 runs) and Sai Sudharsan (722 runs) finished second and third respectively in the run-scoring charts.
The final also featured a musical performance by Kailash Kher during the innings break before Bengaluru completed another memorable title-winning campaign.
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