The Royal Challengers Bengaluru successfully defended their title as they beat the Gujarat Titans by five wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in the Final of the 2026 Indian Premier League.
With their victory, they became the third team to successfully defend the IPL crown after the Chennai Super Kings in 2011 and the Mumbai Indians in 2020. They have been the dominant force in the IPL all season, finishing at the top of the table with 18 points from 14 matches, and extended that dominance into the playoffs, beating the Titans comfortably in both Qualifier 1 and the Final.
After their big victory, Virat Kohli shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) celebrating the trophy with his teammates. The carousel post contained pictures of him posing with the trophy alongside fellow RCB players Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya and skipper Rajat Patidar.
“We asked ourselves a question last year- can we go back to back?
Here we are again 🏆🏆❤️❤️,” the post from Kohli read.
Kohli has once again had a fantastic season with RCB in the IPL. He scored 675 runs at a blistering strike rate of 165.85. A rejuvenated Kohli altered his batting template ahead of the season, as he started going after the bowlers from the get-go. This is reflected in his monumental 174.8 strike rate in the powerplay in 2026, the highest in his storied IPL career. He extended his lead at the top of the charts for the most runs in the tournament, with 9336 runs, and notched up a record-extending ninth century in the season.
He was once again the star of the show in a run chase, top scoring with an unbeaten 75 off just 42 balls. Chasing a paltry 156, the 37-year-old took on the Titans’ bowler, notching up his fastest half-century in the IPL off just 25 balls. His innings also saw him pick up the Player of the Match award.
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