Ahmedabad, June 1: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has claimed the IPL 2026 title. RCB defeated Gujarat Titans (GT) by five wickets in the final match. The star of the final was Virat Kohli, who played a remarkable innings of 75 runs off 42 balls, playing a crucial role in securing the championship for the second consecutive time. During this innings, Kohli set multiple records.
Kohli achieved the fastest half-century of his IPL career against Gujarat Titans in the final. He reached his half-century in just 25 balls, marking it as the joint second-fastest half-century in IPL final history. In his unbeaten 75-run innings, Kohli hit nine fours and three sixes. His performance throughout the season was exceptional, making him the highest run-scorer for RCB in IPL 2026.
Over the season, Kohli scored 675 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 165. He became the first player in IPL history to score over 600 runs in four consecutive seasons. For his outstanding performance, Kohli was awarded the ‘Man of the Match.’ At 37 years and 207 days, he became the second oldest player to win this award in an IPL final.
In IPL 2026, Kohli amassed a total of 82 runs against GT’s fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, the highest runs scored by any batsman against a bowler in a single IPL season. In the final, Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer partnered to score 62 runs for the first wicket in just 27 balls. Thanks to Kohli’s explosive batting, RCB reached their first 50 runs in just 3.3 overs, the fastest team half-century in IPL final history.
RCB successfully chased down the target of 156 runs set by Gujarat Titans in just 18 overs, losing five wickets. Kohli sealed the victory with a memorable six off the last ball of the 18th over against Arshad Khan, making RCB the third team to defend their title in IPL history, following Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.
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