Royal Challengers Bengaluru retained the Indian Premier League title on Sunday, 31 May 2026 defeating Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the IPL 2026 Final at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to become only the third franchise in IPL history to win back-to-back championships, after Chennai Super Kings (2010-11) and Mumbai Indians (2019-20). Chasing 156, RCB overhauled the target in 18 overs with five wickets in hand and two overs to spare.
Virat Kohli anchored the chase with a masterclass unbeaten 75 off 42 balls, his fastest half-century in IPL history and his highest score in an IPL knockout fixture, sealing the title with a six over long-on off the final ball of the 18th over. The opening stand between Kohli and impact substitute Venkatesh Iyer yielded 50 runs in just 21 balls, the fastest team fifty in the history of an IPL final. Rashid Khan struck twice in the ninth over to reduce RCB to 91 for 4 and briefly revive Gujarat's challenge before Tim David and Kohli added 41 critical runs for the fifth wicket to put the chase beyond doubt.
Earlier, RCB won the toss and elected to bowl first. A disciplined pace attack dismantled Gujarat's top order, with the Titans reduced to 26 for 2 inside the powerplay. Nishant Sindhu and Jos Buttler briefly steadied the innings but GT slipped to 73 for 4 in the 13th over. Washington Sundar then counter-attacked with a fighting unbeaten 50 off 37 balls to drag Gujarat Titans to a competitive 155 for 8 in 20 overs, but it ultimately proved insufficient against Kohli's brilliance.
Rasikh Salam Dar was the pick of RCB's bowlers with 3 for 27 in four overs, while Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar chipped in with two wickets each. Bhuvneshwar's second wicket, the dismissal of Jason Holder, took his tally to 28 for the season, drawing level with Gujarat's Kagiso Rabada for the Purple Cap. Shubman Gill (10 off 8) fell to Hazlewood in the third over, with Sai Sudharsan (12 off 12), Nishant Sindhu (20 off 18), and Rahul Tewatia (7 off 5) all falling to RCB's seamers. For RCB's chase, Devdutt Padikkal fell for a thick edge to Rabada and Rajat Patidar (15 off 13) and Krunal Pandya (1 off 2) were removed by Rashid Khan before Tim David (24 off 17) was caught off Arshad Khan. Jitesh Sharma (11 off 14) then partnered Kohli to finish the job.
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