Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) created history on Sunday night (31 May), as they became the third Indian Premier League team to defend the title, as they won the IPL 2026 trophy after comfortably beating the IPL 2022 champions Gujarat Titans (GT), who were playing their official home venue, Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
RCB captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and chose to field first in the IPL 2026 Final. While the Gujarat Titans lost wickets at regular intervals, they managed to score 155/8 in 20 overs. It wasn’t enough for Titans, as RCB chased down the target in 18 overs after losing five wickets, where their former captain Virat Kohli once again produced his master knock at crucial chasing.
RCB pacers Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood provided a strong start with the ball, as the GT batting line-up couldn’t handle the powerplay strongly, managing the score 45/2. Both the Titans openers, Sai Sudharsan (12) and captain Shubman Gill (10), lost their wickets cheaply, while the next two batters, Nishant Sindhu (20) and Jos Buttler (19) also had similar fate.
While Titans' innings struggled hugely, only the no.5 batter Washington Sundar managed to produce a fighting reply. With the help of five fours, Sundar remained not out for 50 runs off 37 balls, as he and Nishant were the only GT batters to reach the 20-run mark in that innings.
Among the RCB bowlers, the right-arm pacer Rasikh Salam got three wickets and finished with the bowling figures of 4-0-27-3. On the other hand, the pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/29) and Josh Hazlewood (2/37) got two wickets each, while Krunal Pandya (1/23) had one wicket.
In reply, RCB got a strong start with a 62-run opening partnership between the impact sub Venkatesh Iyer and Virat Kohli. Iyer was dismissed for 32 off 16 balls (four fours and two sixes), but Kohli held the innings to successfully chase the target. Although most of the next batters struggled, where only Tim David (24) managed to reach the 20-run mark among the non-openers, Kohli played another memorable knock. The right-handed opening batter not only completed his 77th IPL fifty in 25 balls and stretched the score to 75 not out off 42 balls with nine fours and three sixes, as the defending champions chased down the target with 12 balls remaining.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the third team to successfully defend the IPL title. Previously, Chennai Super Kings (2011) and Mumbai Indians (2020) recorded it. However, RCB became the first IPL team to defend the title at the same venue.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the fourth team to lift the IPL trophy at least two times. Chennai Super Kings (5 times), Mumbai Indians (5 times), and Kolkata Knight Riders (3 times) are the other IPL teams to achieve this feat.
