How RCB won the IPL 2026 final: Five moments that changed the final

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru have done it again! After going 17 seasons without a trophy, falling short in the final hurdle on three of those occasions, RCB have now won back-to-back titles.

Virat Kohli, who has remained loyal to Royal Challengers franchise since the inaugural season in 2008, couldn’t help but shed tears of joy when the curse was finally lifted at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium last year following RCB’s narrow victory over Punjab Kings.

On Sunday, this time against Gujarat Titans, Kohli got the honour of scoring the winning runs with a six over long on. And his reaction, as well as that of the rest of the team, after the victory was one that suggested that this is a franchise that was quickly getting used to winning.

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The reason might also have something to with the fact that Rajat Patidar and Co defeated Shubman Gill’s men fairly comfortably, unlike their victory against Shreyas Iyer’s PBKS last year which went down the wire.

Here are five key moments that defined Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad and helped RCB become only the third franchise in IPL history after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to win back-to-back titles:

Getting rid of Gill and Sudharsan in powerplay

Not only were captain Gill and opening partner Sai Sudharsan the Titans’ leading run-scorers this season heading into the final, their contributions also had a direct impact on the team’s fortunes, especially in crunch games. Both openers had departed cheaply in the powerplay in the 92-run defeat against RCB in Qualifier 1 but stitched a match-winning stand of 167 in the seven-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2.

So, when Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Gill (10) and Sudharsan (12) cheaply in the powerplay, one could say that was almost job half-done for the Royal Challengers. The impact was immediate – GT crawled to 45/2 at the end of the powerplay on a good batting track in a season where scoring 60-70 runs during the same stage was the norm.

GT failing to collect a single boundary between overs 6-13

Gill and Sudharsan’s early strikes were a massive blow for the Titans without a doubt. However, their hopes of posting a competitive total in excess of 180 went up in smoke during the middle overs, with the home team failing to collect a single boundary between overs 6-13.

Spin-bowling all-rounder Krunal Pandya played a key role in drying up the runs for Gujarat Titans in the middle-overs, conceding just 13 in his first three and dismissing Jos Buttler in his final over. AP

Between Nishant Sindhu’s four off Rasikh Salam Dar’s boundary in the penultimate delivery of the powerplay to Arshad Khan’s six in the fourth delivery of Krunal Pandya’s final over of the evening, GT had collected just 30 runs in 41 deliveries – which is below-average in the T20 format, especially in a season thoroughly dominated by batters.

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And playing a key role in helping RCB choke GT’s scoring rate during this phase was all-rounder Krunal, who conceded just 13 runs in his first three overs and was ultimately rewarded with the prized scalp of Jos Buttler.

Rasikh’s double strike

Rasikh’s double-strike in the death overs also proved handy for RCB, one that cost GT at least 10-15 runs and ensured they finished under 160.

The Jammu and Kashmir pacer, after all, dismissed Rahul Tewatia first ball into his new spell at the start of the 17th over, the middle-order batter – a proven finisher – caught by Patidar at mid-on. Rashid Khan is quite the handy batter down the order and has won games for his team with this skillset in the past but perished right after hitting Rasikh for a six at the start of the final over, holing out to deep backward square leg.

Rasikh finished the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/27 as GT posted a below par 155/8.

Kohli and Iyer’s explosive powerplay

The showdown between RCB and GT was always going to be decided in the powerplay, looking at their key strengths and how the two teams had performed this season. That was very much the case in Bengaluru’s resounding victory in Qualifier 1 as well as in Sunday’s final.

RCB's Virat Kohli brought up his fastest IPL fifty ever in the final against GT after reaching the milestone in 25 deliveries. AP

GT, after all, had crawled to 45 at the end of the powerplay. RCB’s opening pair of Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer, on the other hand, plundered 62 runs inside the first five overs, bringing the asking rate below seven from the very outset of the chase.

Totals below 160 have been successfully defended in past IPL finals, but it was imperative for GT to strike early and collect at least a couple of wickets in the powerplay – preferably that of Kohli, their leading run-scorer – during this phase. Kohli and Iyer’s partnership, however, meant that RCB had one hand on the trophy already.

Holder’s poor over takes pressure off RCB

Rashid’s double-strike in the ninth over rekindled GT’s faint hopes and started to plant doubts in the minds of the two batters at the crease, especially new batter Tim David who had waked in after the Afghan leg-spinner removed Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya in the space of three deliveries.

In such a scenario, it was important for other bowlers to maintain tight lines and make RCB fight for every run. Seam-bowling all-rounder Jason Holder, however, began the subsequent over with a poor delivery to Kohli, who flicked a full delivery down leg towards fine leg. David also gained confidence later in the over with a boundary that not only got him off the mark but also brought up the 100 for the defending champions.

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And just like that, the pressure was back on GT with those two boundaries. Rashid’s subsequent over didn’t have the same level of threat, and RCB were back in the driving seat, eventually cruising to victory with plenty of wickets and deliveries to spare!