GT vs RCB Highlights, IPL Final: Kohli, bowlers guide Royal Challengers Bengaluru to back-to-back titles

Here’s Rajat Patidar, Virat Kohli and the rest of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru celebrating the title for the second time in as many seasons!

That brings us to the end of our coverage of the IPL 2026 final between RCB and GT. Thank you and good night!

Here are all the awards and their winners after the post-match presentation:

Player of the Final: Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bengaluru 

Emerging Player of the Season: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Rajasthan Royals

Highest Strike Rate: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Rajasthan Royals (237)

Most Sixes: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Rajasthan Royals (72)

Most Fours: Sai Sudharsan, Gujarat Titans (75)

Most Dots: Mohammed Siraj, Gujarat Titans (172)

Catch of the Season: Manish Pandey, Kolkata Knight Riders

Purple Cap: Kagiso Rabada (29 wickets)

Orange Cap: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Rajasthan Royals (776 runs)

Most Valuable Player: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Rajasthan Royals (436.5 points)

Pitch and Ground Award: Eden Gardens, Kolkata (Cricket Association of Bengal)

Pitch and Ground Award (Less than four games): HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association)

Runners-up: Gujarat Titans

Champions: Royal Challengers Bengaluru

The 15-year-old Rajasthan Royals opener wins the Emerging Player of the Season Award in just his second season! He’s also the Super Striker of the season for his strike rate of 237, and also finishes with the award for most sixes — 72!

The bowlers, led by Rasikh Salam Dar, had produced a superb bowling performance to restrict GT to 155 earlier in the evening. But Kohli’s presence at the crease ensured RCB overcame a mid-chase stutter and got over the line with ease in the end!

The senior Australian bowler has now featured in eight finals across tournaments – both at the international and franchise level as well as at the junior and senior levels!

He had previously starred in the final of the 2010 U-19 World Cup, the 2021 T20 World Cup as well as the 2015 and 2023 ICC World Cups for Australia. He had also won the 2012 Champions League T20 final with Sydney Sixes and the 2021 IPL final with Chennai Super Kings, which is followed by back-to-back titles with RCB!

“I said to a few of the boys that there doesn’t seem to be the same kind of pressure that was there last year. Composure of the guys shone through tonight. After the break we had a couple of losses but we wanted to finish top. The win against MI gave us a lot of confidence. Just to have a group of guys where you don’t feel that you are the only guy who has step up for the team is amazing,” says Kohli, who had gone 17 seasons with RCB without a title and now has two in as many seasons!

Here’s the winning six by Virat Kohli off Arshad Khan’s bowling in the final delivery of the 18th over:

Here are the list of teams that have won back-to-back IPL titles: 

– Chennai Super Kings (2010 and 2011)

– Mumbai Indians (2019 and 2020)

– Royal Challengers Bengaluru (2025 and 2026).

End of list! 

“Welcome to the RCB Era, ladies and gentlemen!” goes RCB’s official handle after Kohli and the bowlers setup a comfortable victory over GT in the final in Ahmedabad!

Virat Kohli remains unbeaten on 75 off just 42 deliveries, collecting a four and a six in Arshad Khan’s final deliveries of the evening as Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeat Gujarat Titans by five wickets with two overs to spare after restricting them to a modest 155/8!

Kohli, incidentally, emulates MSD at Wankhede by hitting the winning six over long on, and then does GT captain Shubman Gill’s signature pose to celebrate the historic triumph!

Arshad goes down immediately after bowling the first ball of his final over, in which Jitesh helps himelf to a single. Will he able to complete his spell and sign off on a tidy note? Not that it will matter for the Titans, with the Royal Challengers needing just seven more to win their second successive title with 17 balls and five wickets in hand. RCB 149/5 in 17.1

The star leg-spinner concedes just three singles in his final over. His effort, however, will likely to in vain, with the Royal Challengers needing just 8 more to win from 18 deliveries with five wickets in hand. RCB 148/5 in 17

Kohli’s heroic knock appears to have come to an end after he chips the ball towards mid off, where Shubman Gill leaps forward to complete a fine catch. Except the RCB superstar thinks the GT captain might have grassed this, and pleads with the umpire to take this upstairs. It’s a contentious call, but the third umpire ultimately rules it in favour of Kohli, giving him the benefit of doubt. Gill had his fingers underneath the ball, but some part appears to be touching the ground. Kohli will be hoping to guide his team over the line from here despite his cramps. Just six off Arshad’s third over including a boundary to Kohli in the second over. RCB 145/5 in 16; need 11 off 24

Jitesh Sharma, a proven finisher, walks out after David’s dismissal and bring the equation below the 20-run mark with a boundary off Prasidh Krishna in the third delivery of the seamer’s first over, driving a full delivery outside off past extra cover. RCB 139/5 in 15; need 17 off 30

David helps himself to another boundary in the fourth delivery of Arshad’s second over, but is caught-behind in the final delivery. The umpire initially turns the appeal down, but the Titans, who have little to lose at this point, opt for the review right away. David then gets the marching orders after UltraEdge confirms a spike. RCB 132/5 in 14; need 24 off 36

RCB are 126/4 after 13 overs, needing just 30 more to win from 42 balls with six wickets in hand and a well-set opener at the crease! Kohli, who brought up his half-century in the previous over but is struggling to run between the wickets, safely negotiates Rashid’s third over with Tim David, who smashes the leg-spinner for a maximum over long on. Could have been a repeat of the Patidar dismissal, but the burly Australian got enough timing on the shot!

Kohli slams his fastest IPL half-century ever, and couldn’t have picked a better occasion that in a chase in a final! Reaches the milestone with a boundary in the second delivery of Arshad Khan’s first over, pulling a short ball past midwicket. RCB 113/4 in 11.2; need 43 off 52

Nine conceded by Rashid in his second over, with David collecting a boundary off a thick edge in the final delivery that flies past slip. Kohli and David also collect a double each in this over, with the former needing treatment from the physio. RCB 109/4 in 11; need 47 off 54

Pressure back on GT now after Jason Holder concedes a couple of boundaries in his second over. Kohli flicks a poor delivery from the seam-bowling all-rounder towards the fine leg fence in the first delivery. New batter Tim David later opens his account with a pull towards the cow corner fence. Rashid’s twin strike brought GT back in the game, but they will need to keep getting wickets at regular intervals if they are to win the final. RCB 100/4 in 10; need 56 from 60

Krunal Pandya’s trapped leg-before by the leg-spinner right after opening his account with a single, missing a sweep and getting struck in front of off. The ball had straightened after pitching, and would have gone on to hit the off stump. Pandya decides against reviewing it after a chat with Kohli. RCB 91/4 in 8.5; target: 156

Rashid Khan is introduced for the first time after the first timeout out the RCB chase. Rajat Patidar looks to attack him early in his spell, heaving a full delivery that straightens along the middle stump. The RCB captain, however, doesn’t get the timing needed to clear the fence, with Kagiso Rabada collecting the ball at the edge of long on. RCB 89/3 in 8.2; target: 156

And now Patidar helps himself to a four an over after smacking Siraj for his first six. Another short delivery, this time from Jason Holder who is introduced for the first time in the eighth over, and the in-form RCB captain slaps this in front of square, guiding it towards the vacant cow corner fence. Ruins what was turning out to be an excellent first over from the West Indian all-rounder. RCB 88/2 after 8; need 68 off 72

Mohammed Siraj bowls out his quota of overs right away, with captain Shubman Gill hoping he’s able to get another wicket to keep their faint hopes alive. Siraj starts with a short ball at the RCB captain, who adjusts right away and pulls it behind square, clearing the fence comfortably. 11 off Siraj’s final over as he signs off with figures of 1/36, collecting the wicket of Venkatesh Iyer along the way. RCB 81/2 in 7; target: 156

Gujarat Titans managed just two wickets in the powerplay and RCB remain in command at 70/2 after 6 overs. With only 86 runs needed from 84 deliveries and Virat Kohli and skipper Rajat Patidar at the crease, RCB are cruising towards a successful title defence.

Kagiso Rabada has given GT another opening, dismissing Devdutt Padikkal for just 1. The wicket is a significant personal milestone for Rabada as it takes him to 29 wickets for the season, officially securing the IPL 2026 Purple Cap. Despite the breakthrough, RCB remain in control thanks to their explosive start with Virat Kohli still at the crease.

Mohammed Siraj has finally given GT a breakthrough, dismissing Venkatesh Iyer for a blistering 32 off just 16 balls. However, the damage had already been done, with the left-hander putting RCB in command of the chase. His aggressive start has left Virat Kohli and the rest of the batting line-up needing less than 100 runs to take RCB to back-to-back IPL titles.

Virat Kohli has taken complete control of the chase in Ahmedabad. The RCB superstar hammered Kagiso Rabada for 19 runs in the fourth over, smashing four boundaries and a stunning six off a 155 kph delivery to race to 28 off just 10 balls. Venkatesh Iyer is also providing solid support at the other end. RCB have stormed to 55/0 in 4 overs and now need just 101 runs from 96 deliveries to retain their IPL crown.

RCB have made a flying start to their chase of 156, reaching 36/0 after three overs. After Venkatesh Iyer took apart Kagiso Rabada, Virat Kohli got going with two boundaries off Mohammed Siraj. GT’s bowlers are yet to make a breakthrough as RCB’s openers keep the required rate firmly under control.

Venkatesh Iyer has turned the game on its head despite appearing to struggle with a knee injury he sustained in the previous over. The left-hander smashed Kagiso Rabada for 18 runs in the second over, including three boundaries and a towering six, racing to 22 off just 11 balls as RCB surged to 23/0. Virat Kohli is yet to get off the mark. RCB need 133 from 108 deliveries to retain the crown.

Mohammed Siraj delivered a disciplined opening over for GT, conceding just five runs as RCB moved to 5/0 in the chase of 156. Venkatesh Iyer survived a close call when a late-swinging delivery narrowly missed his leg stump while attempting a scoop.