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In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 grand final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Gujarat Titans (GT) by five wickets.
After winning the toss and elected to bowl first. The defending champions, who were calling themselves the ‘attacking champions’, had a top outing with the ball as they executed their plans flawlessly on a mixed-soil surface. Pacer Rasikh Salam stood out, breaking the back of GT’s middle order with numbers of 3/27. With tremendous tactical accuracy from veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood, RCB restricted the run flow during the middle overs and never let GT’s powerful finishers tee off. Their collective discipline hampered the host team, forcing mistimed shots and limiting GT to a well-below-par score.
Chasing 156 for gold, the RCB batting order exhibited both blazing determination and mature composure. Impact player Venkatesh Iyer (32) produced a scorching start, which completely shredded any early new-ball pressure GT intended to generate. The chase was then expertly led by Virat Kohli (75*), who delivered a brilliant unbeaten outing. Despite a few mid-innings hitches when Rashid Khan struck back, Kohli’s calm presence meant that RCB absorbed the stress flawlessly, pacing the chase brilliantly and crossing the finish line in the 18th over with 5 wickets in hand.
The Titans never found their usual flow at home, straining to withstand early pressure after being assigned to bat first. Their normally successful opening combo of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan faltered early in the powerplay, depriving the squad of its basic basis. While Nishant Sindhu (20) and Jos Buttler (20) gave some stability, the middle order struggled to form significant partnerships against a highly disciplined bowling strategy. It took a valiant, unbeaten half-century from Washington Sundar (50*) deep into the innings to propel GT to a respectable, if ultimately mediocre, total of 155/8.
Defending a modest 155 against a highly destructive batting lineup necessitated a faultless bowling effort, which GT was unable to produce. Rashid bowled his heart out, posting figures of 2/25 and sparking optimism by removing threatening middle-order pieces. Arshad Khan also contributed with important wickets, momentarily halting RCB’s momentum. However, their frontline pacers’ failure to take early wickets in the powerplay proved costly, as it allowed RCB to move too far ahead of the required run rate, exposing the bowlers with too little to defend by the tournament’s finale.
With this result, Rajat Patidar’s team won their second IPL title in a row, capping off an incredible back-to-back championship run.
Scorecard:
Gujarat Titans: 155/8, Overs 20, Washington Sundar 50*, Rasikh Salam Dar 3/27
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 161/5, Overs 18, Virat Kohli 75*, Rashid Khan 2/25
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