RCB become third side to defend their IPL title: Stats
What's the story
For 17 years, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) waited for their first Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy. Less than 12 months later, they have two. RCB became the third side to defend their IPL title after beating Gujarat Titans in the 2026 final at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. They successfully chased down 156, banking on a blistering knock from Virat Kohli. Here are the stats.
Chase
RCB in control despite losing two wickets
RCB openers Venkatesh Iyer and Kohli came out all guns blazing. Despite being disarrayed by Mohammed Siraj, Venkatesh displayed his audacious strokes. And Kohli smashed successive boundaries off Kagiso Rabada. Siraj finally had the last laugh, dismissing Venkatesh in the fifth over. The latter departed for an impactful 16-ball 32. While Rabada dismissed Devdutt Padikkal early, RCB were 70/2 in the Powerplay.
Finish
Rashid's twin wickets; RCB get home
Although RCB were quite ahead in the game, Rashid Khan's over turned the tide. He dismissed skipper Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya, reducing RCB to 91/4. However, a spirited Kohli took RCB forward with his 25-ball half-century. He added 41 runs with Tim David, taking RCB past 130. An unbeaten Kohli got RCB home in 18 overs.
Landmarks
Kohli reaches these landmarks
Kohli raced to his 68th half-century, and this was his fastest ever in the IPL. His previous IPL half-century was off 26 balls (vs RR, Bengaluru, 2018 and vs DC, Delhi, 2018). According to Cricbuzz, Kohli also recorded the joint second-fastest half-century in an IPL final, with Rohit Sharma (vs CSK, 2015) and Chris Gayle (vs SRH, 2016).
Do you know?
Fastest team 50 in IPL final
RCB earlier touched the 50-run mark in 3.3 overs, the fastest team 50 in an IPL final, as per Cricbuzz. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) held the previous record - 4 overs at the same venue (Ahmedabad) in 2023.
Knock
How GT's innings panned out
Previously, Washington Sundar's fifty rescued GT, who slumped to 55/3. Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan departed in successive overs, while Rasikh Salam Dar removed Nishant Sindhu. Rescuing GT, Sundar added brief stands with Jos Buttler, Arshad Khan, and Rahul Tewatia. His 27-run partnership with Jason Holder took GT from 115/6 to 155/8. Rasikh took three wickets, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood sharing four.
Knock
Three fifties from No. 4 or lower for GT
Sundar was the only GT batter to score more than 20 runs in the final. He smashed an unbeaten 50 off 37 balls (5 fours). According to Cricbuzz, Sundar now has three half-centuries from No. 4 or lower for GT in the IPL. These are the joint-most fifties at this position for the franchise, with Hardik Pandya and David Miller.
Numbers
A look at Sundar's numbers
Overall, this was Sundar's third half-century in the league. Notably, each of those came in the 2026 IPL season. Sundar concluded the season with 377 runs, marking his best in the tournament. The all-rounder, who has represented four teams, raced to 888 runs in 83 IPL matches at a strike rate of 135.36. He had a strike rate of 150.19 in the 2026 season.
Spell
Rasikh takes three wickets
Rasikh Salam Dar took three wickets for just 27 runs from his four overs. He was among the most impactful players for RCB in IPL 2026. The Indian seamer concluded with 19 wickets, marking his best IPL season. In 12 matches, he finished with an average of 21.31. Rasikh, who also took a four-wicket haul, recorded an economy rate of 9.45.
Information
RCB defend their title
As mentioned, RCB are the third side to defend their IPL title successfully. They beat Punjab Kings in last year's final. Overall, RCB joined Chennai Super Kings (2010-2011) and Mumbai Indians (2019-2020).