Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans, Final, Indian Premier League 2026 - CommentaryRCB vs GT, Final, Indian Premier League 2026 - Commentary

RCB faced a few off-field challenges. Firstly, holding the IPL matches at Chinnaswamy was not a certainty. Once that was sorted, they were forced to play a couple of home games at Raipur. And then during the tournament, the final - which traditionally is played at the home ground of the defending champions - was moved to Ahmedabad. But nothing flustered them on the field. They played like absolute champions right from the season opener. They lost just 5 matches this season but none of those losses forced them to deviate from their template. The template was set in the 2025 mega auction and they've now joined the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians as the only teams to have won back-to-back IPL titles. They've been ruthless to the core and credit must be given to all the backroom staff involved in transforming an also-ran team into absolute champions. Can anyone stop them from becoming the first team to complete a 3-peat? Only time will tell and the 20th edition of the Indian Premier League will give all the answers in 2027. On that note, it's time to draw the curtains on the 19th season of the IPL. On behalf of MS Ramakrishnan, Abhinand Raghavendran, Raju Peethala, Harish V and Praveen Pungirthi, this is Pradeep Krishnamurthy signing off. Cheers and bye..

The Royal Challengers were strong right from the start. They began with a win against the Sunrisers at home and ended with back-to-back wins in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Barring the MI game in Raipur, all their wins were convincing. They were the first team to get the 'Q' next to their name. Their biggest loss came in the final round-robin game against SRH but they accomplished the main goal, which is to finish as the table-toppers. Finally, in the playoffs (Qualifier 1 and the Final), they brought their A-game to trounce the Titans twice. On the other hand, the Titans slipped at the start, then ran a good campaign in the middle and did enough to join the RCB in the top-2. Qualifier 1 in Dharamsala was a one-sided affair but the Titans then held their nerve to edge past the Rajasthan Royals in Mullanpur. A home final and history beckoned as Gill & Co. looked set for a 2nd IPL title, only to get ambushed once again by the ruthless force called Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Rajat Patidar collects the IPL trophy from Mithun Manhas (BCCI president) and Devajit Saikia (BCCI secretary). As he kisses it, his team-mates run to the podium. All smiles in the RCB camp. The RCB captain waits for everyone to join and then raises the silverware. All the other RCB players jump with their arms aloft. Kohli lets out a couple a fist pumps. The confetti rains and almost every player wants to kiss and lift it. They now want the support staff to hold the trophy. Coach Andy Flower is the last one to join them and he raises it with a beaming smile on his face. Now, they all get off the podium to pose alongside the CHAMPIONS signage.

Rajat Patidar (2/2): This year, we were pretty confident because of the way we played in this tournament and everyone was in a good frame of mind. Slightly more confident as compared to last year and it was good. It was good to see fans coming to every ground wherever we went. It felt like a home ground for us. So overall it was great, great for RCB. (On his batting form and preparation) Before entering the tournament, my pre-tournament prep(aration) was very good. The way I looked at my batting, I tried to analyse where I could improve, specifically which shots I could improve on against fast bowlers. In the tournament I worked with DK and many players, including VK (Virat Kohli) Bhai. I got so many inputs, ideas, and they helped me. (On Virat Kohli’s influence in the team) whenever I see him, on the field and off the field also, he is always there for the team. He is always there for the players, especially the new players who are coming in. They have a lot of hesitation to speak, but he goes straight away and talks to them. So it was superb. (Message for the fans) So this one is for you again, RCB fans - Ee Salanu Cup Namdu (The cup is ours this time as well)

Rajat Patidar | RCB captain (1/2):(On his first reaction) I think it feels superb. When we came here, lot of memories of last year, the way we played last year. But at the same time, we have to be more in the present and we felt good. I don’t have words to express, but I’m feeling good. (On the decision to field first and RCB’s performance in the field) It was a clear plan. When we win the toss, it’s easy to chase, you know, and our plan was easy - get their top three in the powerplay, so it would be easy for us. And the way our bowlers performed throughout the tournament, not just in this match, was superb. And the way Bhuvi, Hazlewood and Rasikh - I want to mention every bowler, KP, Suyash, Sheppy - they bowled brilliantly throughout the tournament. (On his journey from 2022 to captaining RCB to back-to-back titles) To be honest, I never dreamt of being a captain and lifting a trophy for RCB. I think it was all written and I’m grateful for it. (On the difference between this season and the last season) Obviously, last year there was a lot of pressure because it was the first year of winning the title

Rajat Patidar collects the winners cheque of Rs. 20,00,00,000.

Shubman Gill | GT captain: (On what could have been a winning total) I think if we would have gotten close to 180, 190, it would have been a good match. (On whether the surface was slow or two-paced) Honestly, not that much. You know, maybe a little bit. We have seen whenever we are playing, in the first three or four overs there is a little bit of movement for the fast bowlers. We lost a couple of early wickets and then we kind of lost the momentum in the middle; we couldn’t really get going. But then we knew we are playing the finals. 150, 160, if we get a couple of early wickets in the powerplay, we are always in the game. (On not getting wickets early enough in the chase) Yeah, I think 15-20 runs too many in the powerplay. Had we restricted them to around 50-55 runs, we still would have had a chance. But I think they got away a little bit in the powerplay. (On the team’s improvement this season) I think we were one of the best bowling sides in the tournament. The way after we lost the first two games - we came back in the tournament after losing the first couple of games - the way we kept talking, kept pushing ourselves, kept challenging ourselves in different areas, and kept improving those 5 percent factors. (On the overall campaign despite the final loss) Yeah, definitely, very happy. We couldn’t get over the line, but there are always things that you could improve on. And even if we had won the trophy, there were still things that we felt as a group that we needed to work on.

The match officials collect their medallions. Shubman Gill receives the runners-up cheque of Rs. 12,50,00,000.

Pitch and Ground award goes to the Cricket Association of Bengal

Pitch and Ground award (for hosting 4 or less matches) goes to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the Most Valuable Player of the season: Translated from Hindi - (How does it feel to win so many awards) No sir, it feels good, but I’m feeling a little pressure because I’m here for an interview. But yes, it’s a proud moment, it feels great, and I’ll try to do even better next season. (On pressure and his fearless batting and how much milk he drinks every day) Sir, I’m not drinking milk right now (smiles). But yes, I just try to back my game. If I feel that the first ball is in my zone and I can hit it, then I go all-out and try to play that way. (On what he learnt from the season) This season, I learnt how to play in pressure situations and how to change my game according to the circumstances. You can’t play every game with the same mindset. You have to read the situation of the game and play according to what the team requires. I learned a lot about that, even in the playoff games. (On fitness and longevity) I’ll have to focus a lot on that because I want to play for a long time. I need to avoid injuries and things like that, so I’ll have to work on my fitness and focus even more going forward. (on Rajasthan Royals and the support he receives) Yes sir, everyone is very supportive and everyone there backs me. All the senior players and the support staff back me a lot, and I get to learn so much because these players have performed at a very high level. So it’s a really good environment to be in.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gets the Orange Cap for scoring 776 runs in the season

Kagiso Rabada gets the Purple Cap for taking 29 wickets in the season

Punjab Kings get the fairplay award

Manish Pandey gets the Catch of the Season award - he dismissed Tim David taking a blinder at backward point

Mohammed Siraj gets an award for bowling the most number of dot balls (172) in the season

Sai Sudharsan gets an award for hitting the most number of fours (75) in the season

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gets the awards for the Emerging Player of the Season, Super Striker of the Season (237.3), Super Sixes of the Season (72)

Virat Kohli (3/3): (On the opening partnership) Yeah, I mean, simple chat to Venky in the change room. And I just told him one thing, we need to kill the game in the power play. And he said, yeah, let’s go. So it was total clarity. There was no doubt at any stage when both of us were going. We just wanted to strike. We just wanted to take the bowlers on because we knew in a big game, if you lose a couple of wickets, things can get tricky. So never let the run rate go up to seven and a half, eight. And then we had small targets in mind. You know, when you get the score under those targets, then you can really go and play free cricket. So, yeah, credit to Venkatesh as well. He stepped in and did a beautiful job up top. And his intent was probably the difference maker for us in the last three or four games. (Message for the RCB fans) I mean, I always say we don’t have seven home games. We probably have 14 because everywhere we go, we have fans cheering the team and, you know, really getting behind us. I mean, GT is probably the home side, but you see 90 percent of the guys are RCB fans. So that’s what we’ve earned over the years and we just continue to make them proud and try to put our best foot forward. And yeah, their support is priceless and really happy that they can celebrate us lifting the trophy tonight and witness that.

Virat Kohli (2/3): (On the clarity within the group after last year’s title) Absolutely. I mean, the first target was to finish top of the table. We achieved that. And then after that, it was just about… you know, a lot of people asked us, who do you prefer in the finals? And we said, it doesn’t matter for us. We don’t care what jersey is in front of us. We are playing great cricket. We want to focus on RCB and not the other teams. And we’re going to be respectful of all the other teams. We don’t poke any other team. We’re very happy to carry on playing professional cricket. We have a lot of mature players in the group, a lot of experienced guys, and the experience always shines through in difficult situations. You can have all the excitement and slam-bang in the world, but come the big situations, you need the big boys to step up. And that’s exactly what we did. (On different players stepping up throughout the season) Absolutely. I mean, even tonight, I know it’s a chase and they probably look to get me out early, but I was very confident that even if I get out early, we have a champion team that’s going to finish the job, you know, three or four overs to go. So when you have that kind of confidence, you can go out there and really take the bowlers on. And I think that’s credit to the management, the way they stacked up the squad, the talent of the players, the belief that the players have shown. And we stand here champions back-to-back, which is a special feat. That’s exactly what Mo Bobat said when we won last year, that it’s not the end of the road. We’re going to look to go back-to-back. And that’s exactly what we ended up achieving. So we’re really proud of us as a team.

Virat Kohli | Player of the Match (1/3): (You saved the best for the last!) Well, it’s the stuff that you dream of. I’ve thought of this moment many times, that, you know, once when we win the IPL, I should be standing there hitting the winning runs and tonight it was possible. So yeah, just a dream day for us. And as I mentioned straight after the game as well, we just felt really relaxed coming to the game today and really confident about how we wanted to go about our game and what kind of team we have. And that gives you confidence to just, you know, see any kind of situation through. But yeah, in a chase, I felt really comfortable out there knowing exactly what to do. (On getting his fastest IPL fifty in his 19th season) Well, not really. I mean, such is the demand of the sport today. I mean, you have these, you know, super young players pushing you all the time and really asking you to change your game and up the ante. And it’s an exciting situation because it gives you something to improve on, something to work towards. And yeah, I just take a lot of pride in getting better and just trying to figure out areas where I can improve. So yeah, it was just a case of the demands of today’s modern game where you need to get those 20, 30 extra runs. And I had to kind of change my mindset, not my game so much to hit the shots I hit, but more often and take the bowlers on, probably the best bowlers in the opposition. That was always my target. So very happy I was able to contribute towards the team cause.