Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) created history as they beat Gujarat Titans (GT) by 5 wickets in the IPL 2026 final at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday to become only the third team to successfully defend their IPL title.

Before today, only Chennai Super Kings (2010 and 2011) and Mumbai Indians (2019 and 2020) had been able to win the IPL trophy in back-to-back seasons.

RCB’s star batter Virat Kohli was once again the protagonist in RCB’s win as he helped his team chase down the 156-run target with ease through his unbeaten 75-run innings off 42 balls.

GT, with this loss, have now lost two finals in the last four seasons. Their last IPL final defeat also came at the same venue against CSK in 2023.

The win has made RCB the fourth-most successful team in IPL history with two titles, behind CSK (five titles), MI (five titles) and KKR (three titles).

Earlier, RCB won the toss and opted to bowl first. Sai Sudharsan started in an aggressive manner with back-to-back boundaries in the first over before being adjudged caught behind off Jacob Duffy. However, Sai immediately reviewed the decision and saved his wicket.

Shubman Gill (10 runs off 8 balls) also started on a strong note but was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood, who handed RCB their first success with the ball in the third over. In the very next over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Sai Sudharsan (12 runs off 12 balls) as GT lost their in-form openers with just 26 on the board.

Nishant Sindhu then played some good shots to help GT finish the powerplay with the scoreboard reading 45 for 2. However, in the second over after the powerplay, he was dismissed by Rasikh Salam for 20 off 18 balls as GT were reduced to 55 for 3.

GT’s third-highest run-scorer this season, Jos Buttler (19 runs off 23 balls), also failed to impress and was dismissed by Krunal Pandya. Arshad Khan (15 runs off 6 balls) tried to launch a counter-attack but was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood.

GT’s highest scorer in their last game against RCB, Rahul Tewatia (7 runs off 5 balls), also failed to do much and was dismissed by Rasikh Salam. Bhuvneshwar Kumar then dismissed Jason Holder (7 runs off 5 balls) to equal Kagiso Rabada as the highest wicket-taker of the season with 28 wickets.

Rashid Khan (7 runs off 3 balls) was the next batter to depart after losing his wicket to Rasikh Salam. Washington Sundar (50 not out off 37 balls) then brought up a fighting half-century to help GT finish their innings at 155 for 8.

A short closing ceremony took place during the innings break, with Kailash Kher performing his famous songs for the Ahmedabad crowd.

In the chase, Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer got RCB off to a fiery start as they added a half-century stand in just 3.3 overs, which was also the fastest team fifty in an IPL final, surpassing CSK’s record of reaching fifty runs in four overs against the same opponent at the same venue.

Mohammed Siraj finally got the first breakthrough for GT as he dismissed Venkatesh Iyer (32 runs off 16 balls). Kagiso Rabada, in the very next over, dismissed Devdutt Padikkal (1 run off 4 balls) to ensure his Purple Cap in IPL 2026.

Rashid Khan then dismissed Rajat Patidar (15 runs off 13 balls) and Krunal Pandya (1 run off 2 balls) in a span of four balls to keep GT’s hopes alive. However, Virat Kohli then brought up his half-century in 25 balls to keep RCB en route to a second consecutive IPL title.

Tim David (24 runs off 17 balls) then added a 41-run stand for the fifth wicket with Kohli to take RCB close to the target before edging a straight ball from Arshad Khan to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.

In the end, Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 75 runs off 42 balls and added 29 runs for the sixth wicket with Jitesh Sharma (11 runs off 14 balls) to take RCB over the line with five wickets in hand and 12 balls to spare, lifting the trophy in consecutive seasons.