Kohli seals RCB's second straight IPL title in final

For once, the old RCB joke had nowhere to hide. The team that spent years turning promise into pain now has 2 IPL titles in 2 years.

At Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, Virat Kohli finished the job in the most Kohli way possible. He stayed there, took the hits, beat the chase into shape, and ended the IPL 2026 final with a six.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Gujarat Titans by 5 wickets on Sunday, chasing 156 in 18 overs. Kohli walked back unbeaten on 75 from 42 balls. For a franchise that once carried heartbreak like team luggage, this was not just another win. This was proof of a new habit.

Kohli owns the final chase

The chase should have been tricky. Finals do strange things to batters. A target of 156 can look small on paper and heavy in the mind.

RCB made it look lighter in the first 6 overs. Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer added 62 for the opening wicket in just 27 balls. That burst changed the mood of the night.

Iyer played the fast hand. He hit 32 from 16 balls, with 4 fours and 2 sixes. His job was clear. Drag Gujarat’s bowlers out of their plans before they settled.

Kohli did the deeper work. He struck Kagiso Rabada for 19 in an over and reached his fifty in 25 balls. It was his fastest half-century in an IPL final.

There was one worrying moment. Kohli called for the physio after feeling discomfort in his right hamstring. He took treatment, hydrated, and carried on. That small scene told the story of the innings.

RCB did wobble after the powerplay. Devdutt Padikkal made 1. Rajat Patidar got 15. Krunal Pandya fell for 1. Rashid Khan’s double strike in the ninth over briefly pulled Gujarat back into the game.

But Kohli refused to let panic enter. Tim David’s 24 from 17 balls gave him enough company. Jitesh Sharma stayed unbeaten on 11. Then Kohli shut the door with a four and a six in the 18th over.

Gujarat’s top order goes quiet

Gujarat came into the final with batting muscle. Shubman Gill had 732 runs this season. Sai Sudharsan had 722. Both had shaped Gujarat’s campaign at the top.

The final gave them no room. Gill made 10. Sudharsan made 12. Nishant Sindhu got 20. By 55, Gujarat had already lost 3 wickets.

That is a brutal place to be in a final. You still have overs left, but your plans have already taken a punch.

Josh Hazlewood removed Gill with extra bounce. Bhuvneshwar Kumar used the short ball smartly against Sudharsan. Rasikh Salam then took out Sindhu and later returned to hurt Gujarat again.

Jos Buttler tried to steady things, but his 19 ended with a stumping against Krunal Pandya. Gujarat kept losing just when a partnership looked possible.

Washington Sundar stood apart. He made an unbeaten 50 from 37 balls and gave Gujarat a total they could defend. It was not flashy, but it was valuable. In a final, sometimes survival is also skill.

Arshad Khan added a useful 15 from 6 balls. Jason Holder and Rashid Khan chipped in briefly. Still, Gujarat’s 155 for 8 looked short once RCB’s openers began swinging freely.

Rasikh gives RCB control

RCB’s bowling had a clear tone. They did not wait for Gujarat to make mistakes. They forced them.

Rasikh Salam finished with 3 for 27, the best figures for Bengaluru. His slower ball worked well. So did his short ball. In a final, that mix matters because batters cannot line you up easily.

Hazlewood took 2 wickets. Bhuvneshwar also took 2. Krunal picked up Buttler, a key middle-over wicket. Together, they denied Gujarat the one thing every batting side wants in a final, a calm middle phase.

Patidar’s captaincy also deserves mention. He won the toss and chose to bowl. He said the pitch looked good and might not change much. That call fitted the chase-first comfort RCB showed.

Bengaluru had happy memories at this same ground. They won the 2025 IPL title here by beating Punjab Kings. A year later, they returned and won again.

That makes RCB only the third team to win back-to-back IPL trophies. Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians had done it before. Bengaluru have now joined that room, and that changes how their era will be judged.

A new IPL power story

For Gujarat, this defeat will sting because the pieces were there. Gill’s team had beaten RCB in Ahmedabad during the league stage. They had also reached the final after a strong playoff run.

But finals often punish tiny slips. Gill’s early wicket hurt. Sudharsan’s dismissal hurt more because Gujarat’s best batting this season had come through that top order. Once both were gone, Bengaluru could squeeze the game.

There was also a telling moment in RCB’s chase. In the 16th over, Gill claimed a diving catch to dismiss Kohli. The third umpire saw the ball touch the ground, and Kohli survived.

These moments become folklore when trophies are involved. Gujarat fans will remember it with frustration. RCB fans will remember it as the night destiny finally wore their colours without apology.

The season also crowned Vaibhav Suryavanshi as the Orange Cap winner. He made 776 runs in 16 matches. Gill and Sudharsan followed him on the batting charts, another sign of how strong Gujarat’s top order had been.

Rabada, meanwhile, moved to 29 wickets after dismissing Padikkal. That put him at the top of the wicket chart during the final. Even in defeat, Gujarat had individual excellence all over the scorecard.

But team sport is cruel that way. Individual numbers fill pages. Trophy nights remember finishing power.

For RCB supporters, this win carries a different taste from last year. The first title ended a long wait. The second title says it was not a lucky peak. It was a structure, a squad, and a dressing room that knew how to repeat.

For Indian cricket fans, the larger message is simple. The IPL is no longer only about the loudest batting line-up or the biggest names. It is about depth, match-ups, calm captains, and players who can hold their nerve after one bad over.

Kohli’s unbeaten 75 will lead the memory of this final, and rightly so. But the story underneath is bigger. Bengaluru have crossed from romance into reliability. For a generation that grew up watching RCB nearly get there, that may be the strangest and sweetest shift of all.