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As Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) secured back-to-back Indian Premier League (IPL) titles, RCB's batting icon Virat Kohli reflected on Bengaluru's triumphs, saying the team challenged themselves after last year's glory by asking whether they could repeat the feat.
RCB clinched IPL 2026 glory, riding on a stunning 75* off 42 by Virat Kohli, to beat Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL 2026 final in Ahmedabad on Sunday. RCB gunned down a tricky 156 runs to join five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) in the elite list of clubs to have won back-to-back IPL titles. "We asked ourselves a question last year- can we go back to back? Here we are again," Kohli wrote in an Instagram post. https://www.instagram.com/p/DZCAuVxDWGQ/?igsh=MTNpNGp5aTZsbWhpYQ%3D%3D&img_index=1 Star footballer Harry Kane praised Virat Kohli for his match-winning performance in the final and congratulated Royal Challengers Bengaluru on securing consecutive IPL titles. "What a player and what a knock @virat.Kohli. Congrats @royalchallengers.bengaluru on making it back-to-back IPL titles," Kane wrote in an Instagram story. Kohli ended the tournament as the fourth-highest run-getter with 675 runs in 16 innings at an average of 56.25 and a strike rate of 165.84, with a century and five fifties and a best score of 105*. 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 ones 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 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 Kohli's (75* in 42 balls, with nine fours and three sixes) guided RCB to a win with two overs left. (ANI)
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