Champions Again! Virat Kohli Leads RCB to Back-to-Back IPL Titles

by Devesh Jaganath

image Champions Again! Virat Kohli Leads RCB to Back-to-Back IPL Titles
After two months of incredible entertainment, the 2026 Indian Premier League has now come to an end and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru are crowned champions once again. RCB retained their title by beating GT on Sunday in Ahmedabad, with Virat Kohli leading the team to a five-wicket victory.
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru Retain IPL Crown

Another incredible season is in the books, and after 74 matches, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru retained the title by beating the Gujarat Titans by five wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday afternoon. 

Batting first, GT struggled to get going, with each of their top four batters dismissed for 20 runs or fewer. Washington Sundar played a key role for his side, scoring an unbeaten 50 runs off 37 deliveries; unfortunately, he did not receive any support from the lower order. 

Chasing just 155/8, RCB were firmly in the driver’s seat heading into their innings, and they strengthened their position in the powerplay, with Venkatesh Iyer and Virat Kohli getting off to an excellent start, scoring 62 runs in 4.1 overs before the former was dismissed by Mohammed Siraj. 

However, as has become a common occurrence, Virat Kohli once again stepped up on the biggest stage, smashing 75* off 42 balls, which proved crucial, given that none of his teammates were able to score 25+ runs in the middle and lower order. 

In the end, Kohli got his side to the target with five wickets and 12 balls remaining. By defending the title, RCB became only the third team to win back-to-back IPL’s, after the Chennai Super Kings (2010 and 2011) and the Mumbai Indians (2019 and 2020). 

2026 Indian Premier League: Final Orange and Purple Cap Standings

Unsurprisingly, Kohli was awarded Player of the Match for his knock in the final, and extended his record as the top scorer in the history of the IPL to 9,336 runs. He finished fourth in the Orange Cap standings, scoring 675 runs in this edition of the tournament. 

The winner of the Orange Cap was Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who set the tournament alight, recording 766 runs in 16 innings, including 63 fours and 73 sixes at an incredible 237.30 strike rate. 

Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan were forced to settle for second and third place, respectively, after failing to make an impact in the final. Gill was dismissed for just 10 runs in the third over, while Sudharsan went for 12 (12) in the very next over. 

As for the Purple Cap, Kagiso Rabada and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took the race down to the wire, but it was the South African who came out on top in the end with 29 wickets in 17 games, just one more than RCB’s veteran paceman on 28.