Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Gujarat Titans to win their second consecutive IPL title. Virat Kohli's unbeaten 75 guided the chase, while Phil Salt and Suyash Sharma became part of a rare trio to win three straight championships.
RCB Secure Consecutive IPL Titles, Kohli Shines in Final
As Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) secured back-to-back Indian Premier League (IPL) titles, Phil Salt and Suyash Sharma became part of a rare trio of consecutive championship-winning campaigns. The duo lifted the trophy with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 before adding successive titles with RCB in 2025 and 2026.
RCB clinched IPL 2026 glory, riding on a stunning 75* off 42 by Virat Kohli, to beat Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL 2026 final in Ahmedabad on Sunday. RCB gunned down a tricky 156 runs to join five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) in the elite list of clubs to have won back-to-back IPL titles.
Key Performers: Salt and Sharma
Phil Salt enjoyed a dynamic IPL 2026 season for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, opening the batting and keeping wickets while scoring 202 runs in six matches at a blistering strike rate of 168.33. Across his 40-match IPL career, Salt has accumulated 1,258 runs at an impressive strike rate of 174.48, including 12 half-centuries.
On the other hand, Sharma had a decent 2026 IPL season, taking 9 wickets in 12 matches while maintaining an economy rate of 9.21. Overall, in 39 matches, he has scalped 27 wickets at an average of 44.07.
Match Recap: RCB vs GT
Coming to the match, put to bat first by RCB, GT scored just 155/8 in 20 overs, with Washington Sundar (50* in 37 balls, with five fours) and Nishant Sindhu (20 in 18 balls, with three fours) being the only ones to cross the 20-run mark. Rasikh Dar Salam (3/27), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/29) and Josh Hazlewood (2/37) took wickets regularly. RCB started well with a 62-run stand between Venkatesh Iyer (32 in 16 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Virat Kohli. GT showed some fight, reducing RCB to 132/5 at one point, but Kohli's (75* in 42 balls, with nine fours and three sixes) guided RCB to a win with two overs left.
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