Season at a glance: Amidst all of the title celebrations and pitch side interviews in Ahmedabad, a line from Virat Kohli summed up RCB of 2026: "I feel so happy to play in a season where we have balance, we have strength and we are an all-round strong team."

He knows. He's been around in every barren season of hurt and disappointment until the highs of 2025 hit him and he broke down by the boundary line at the same venue. 362 days later, while he chased like only he does, there was almost an air of inevitability to RCB's title defence. They played at the home of their opposition and out-thought them at every step of the way in the title clash. RCB carried and lived up to the reputation of being an all-condition, all-situation, all-conquering team throughout the season, securing wins at home (4 out of 5 in Benguluru, 2 out of 2 in Raipur) and largely being what Kohli said they were: an all-round strong team.

RCB were the best team in the league, a dominant force in Q1 and stronger of the two teams in the final - rightfully etching their name on the trophy again. Their pacers dominated both Powerplay and death overs, Kohli accumulated 675 runs at his best-ever strike rate in 19 years (165.84), Rajat Patidar got his first 500-run season and did it at a strike rate of 192.69 while Krunal Pandya enjoyed his first 200-plus run season since 2018, while also pocketing 14 wickets.

Player of the season:Bhuvneshwar Kumar operated as though he'd found the controls to a time machine, rolling back the years to stun and outthink batters en route to a career-best haul of 28 wickets. In a season where almost every team armed itself with young batters who treated bowlers' reputations with uncanny indifference, the veteran offered a refreshing antidote. Take RCB's game against DC in Delhi. The hosts sent out Sahil Parakh - young, dynamic, full of promise and notably half Bhuvneshwar's age, to open the innings. The 36-year-old responded with a contender for the ball of the tournament: a vicious inswinging yorker that floored the middle stump. He came in clutch in the playoffs too - returning 2-28 and 2-29 in the Qualifier 1 and final respectively. And he also hit a six (more on that below).

A stat that adds up:RCB became only the third team since MI (2019 & 2020) and Gujarat Titans (2022 & 2023) to follow up a title win with a table-topping performance in the league stage. It offered a glimpse into how well-rounded the champions squad really was.

A mini-auction pick that...

- Looked a million bucks: RCB's 7 Crore acquisition Venkatesh Iyer had to bide his time to get a look in, but once he did, he fit RCB's top-order like a glove. His chances at the backend of the season came through injuries to Phil Salt and then Jacob Bethell, with the latter leading to opening opportunities. He scored a 73* (40) from No.4 against PBKS to secure RCB's playoffs spot and then got a 19-ball 44 while opening with Kohli against SRH, to end their bid of usurping RCB to a top-two finish. Before Kohli laid down his stamp on the final, Venkatesh's 16-ball 32 dimmed GT's hopes quickly in the Powerplay. He finished the season with 209 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 186.60.

- Didn't work out: None. RCB bought all of eight players at the mini-auction, largely adding young domestic talents while already having a solid first XII. Among them, only Venkatesh and Jacob Duffy got game time. The New Zealand quick, like Venkatesh, came through well in the few opportunities he got (9 wickets in 6 innings).

Best match of the season:Where Bhuvneshwar Kumar hit a six - his first in the IPL since 2016. If that isn't astounding enough, get this: It came on the fourth ball of a final-over chase in an emotionally-charged fixture that dumped out Mumbai Indians. Raj Bawa did little wrong on that delivery - he saw a lower-order batter and tried to nail a wide yorker. But Bhuvneshwar saw it coming and sent it sailing over deep cover. 9 off 3 became 3 off 2 and eventually resulted in an RCB win off the very last ball. Before he had to actually pad up and make his way out to the middle, Bhuvneshwar finished with figures of 4/23 that allowed RCB to keep MI down to 166/7 despite fighting efforts from Tilak Varma (57 off 42) and Naman Dhir (47 off 32). But this was a tricky Raipur surface that saw Virat Kohli get a second successive duck and a top-order slide before Krunal Pandya slammed a game-turning 73 off 46, while battling cramps. It would have all been for nothing, if not for that incredible finish, sparking an emotional celebration from the RCB dugout.

On a scale of 1-10, 1 being urgent need for introspection and 10, a celebration into the night - IPL 2026 for RCB has been: A perfect 10.