The Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat the Gujarat Titans by five wickets to successfully defend their crown in the Final of the 2026 Indian Premier League at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

With their victory, they became the third team in IPL history, after the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians, to defend their title successfully. As the celebrations went on, a video posted by the franchise showed all-rounder Krunal Pandya dancing with the trophy to the beats of dhols [drums] playing in the background. Virat Kohli soon joined him in the celebrations, dancing to the beats. 

Watch the video here:

Electing to bowl first, the defending champions restricted the Titans to a total of 155 for 8 in their 20 overs. Rasikh Salam Dar was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of three for 27 in his four overs. They removed the GT openers, Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan, cheaply in the powerplay, helping them set the platform early.

As with significant chases on big occasions, the talismanic Kohli once again put on a show, scoring an unbeaten 75 off just 42 balls. His innings was laced with nine fours and three sixes, including finishing the game with a straight six over long-on. The knock also saw him notch up his fastest half-century in IPL, off just 25 balls, and saw him pick up the Player of the Match award.

Kohli finished the season as RCB's highest run-scorer with 675 runs at a blistering strike rate of 165.85. This was a season of rejuvenation for the batting maverick as he altered his template to take on bowlers from the get-go. He has struck at a whopping 174.8 in the powerplay in IPL 2026, his highest season aggregate in his storied career in the tournament.