Kohli Unfinished, and the Title Was His
IPL Reports / Kohli Unfinished, and the Title Was His
Gujarat Titans 155/8 (20 overs)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 161/5 (18 overs)
Rajat Patidar won the toss and put Gujarat in. The defending champions did not change a side. Shubman Gill put Arshad Khan in for Sai Kishore. Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, 31 May 2026. The fourth IPL final at this ground.
Gill was caught by Patidar off Josh Hazlewood in the third over, 10 off 8. Sai Sudharsan was caught behind off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the fourth, 12 off 12. Gujarat were 26 for 2. Jos Buttler made 19 off 23 and was stumped off Krunal Pandya. Washington Sundar was still there at the end, 50 not out off 37, five fours, no six. Rasikh Salam took 3 for 27. Gujarat 155 for 8. The required chase was 156.
A closing show filled the interval. Kailash Kher sang. Lasers. Fireworks. Then Venkatesh Iyer and Virat Kohli put on 62 in 4.3 overs before Iyer was caught off Mohammed Siraj for 32 off 16. Devdutt Padikkal made 1. Patidar made 15. Krunal was lbw to Rashid Khan for 1. At 8.5 overs Bengaluru were 91 for 4. Kohli had not gone.
Tim David made 24 off 17 and was caught behind off Arshad Khan. Jitesh Sharma stayed with Kohli. Rashid Khan took 2 for 25. Kohli finished 75 not out off 42, nine fours, three sixes, strike-rate 178. Bengaluru 161 for 5 in 18 overs. Twelve balls unused. Player of the match: Kohli. Player of the series: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who was not in this game. He had already done his scoring.
TATA IPL 2026 final: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Titans. If the player does not load, open it on YouTube.
Bengaluru became the third side to win two IPL finals in a row. Patidar dedicated the cup to the people killed in the 2025 Bengaluru crowd crush. Those are his words after the match. The scorecard only has the 75 not out.