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RCB owner Kumar Mangalam Birla hailed the team's second consecutive Indian Premier League (IPL) title win as they defeated Gujarat Titans (GT) by five wickets in the final of the 2026 season, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
RCB became only the third side after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) to defend their IPL crown successfully. The Rajat Patidar-led side, after restricting GT to 155/8 in the first innings, chased the target down with five wickets and two overs remaining. Speaking to reporters after RCB's win, Kumar Mangalam Birla said, "It's a great team, they worked seamlessly together, very rare to see such a bonded team. I think there would be a hat-trick next year," he said. On the other hand, Colonel Arvinder Singh, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Gujarat Titans told reporters, "It was a pretty interesting match. What is more important is that despite scoring fewer runs, our team put its heart out there and gave its best on the field. We are very proud of them," he told reporters on Monday. 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 one 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 off 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 Virat (75* in 42 balls, with nine fours and three sixes) guided RCB to a win with two overs left.This is RCB's second IPL title win and overall their fourth Indian franchise cricket trophy, including two Women's Premier League (WPL) titles. (ANI)
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