Royal Challengers Bengaluru have done what once seemed unthinkable for this franchise: won successive Indian Premier League titles, defeating Gujarat Titans in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to close out IPL 2026. The triumph came despite a season littered with off-field complications that would have destabilised most dressing rooms, yet Rajat Patidar's side barely blinked, finishing as table-toppers and sweeping both the Titans in Qualifier 1 and then again in the summit clash.
The road to this crown was anything but straightforward. Early uncertainty over whether Chinnaswamy Stadium would even be cleared to host IPL matches forced RCB to shift a couple of home fixtures to Raipur, and then, breaking with tradition, the final itself was relocated away from the defending champions' home turf to Ahmedabad. None of it mattered once the covers came off. RCB opened with a win over Sunrisers Hyderabad at home and lost only five matches all season, none of which knocked them off their template - a template built meticulously around the 2025 mega auction. Fans tracking the tournament's twists, including detailed coverage on platforms like playinstrike.com., watched a side that rarely looked rattled, even when results elsewhere tightened the race for the top two.
A Ruthless, Consistent Campaign
RCB's only truly one-sided defeat in the league phase came in their final round-robin game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, but by then the primary objective - finishing at the summit - was already secured. They became the first team to claim the mathematical 'Q' for qualification, and when the playoffs arrived, they raised their level further, brushing aside Gujarat twice in succession. Gujarat Titans, by contrast, endured a shaky start, steadied through the middle rounds, and then showed real nerve to edge past Rajasthan Royals in Mullanpur before falling just short of a second title on home soil.
Patidar's Leadership and Kohli's Influence
Captain Rajat Patidar, lifting the trophy from BCCI president Mithun Manhas and secretary Devajit Saikia, spoke of a calmer, more assured campaign compared to the title-winning run a year earlier. He credited meticulous pre-season batting work alongside senior figures, including Virat Kohli, whose presence, Patidar said, has been invaluable in settling younger players under pressure. The bowling unit - anchored by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood and Rasikh Salam - was repeatedly singled out as the backbone of RCB's consistency through the tournament.
Awards Night Highlights
Individual honours at the ceremony underlined a season rich with emerging talent and bowling discipline. Key award winners included:
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi - Most Valuable Player, Orange Cap (776 runs), Emerging Player of the Season, Super Striker of the Season and Super Sixes of the Season
- Kagiso Rabada - Purple Cap for 29 wickets
- Manish Pandey - Catch of the Season for his effort to dismiss Tim David
- Mohammed Siraj - Most Dot Balls bowled (172)
- Sai Sudharsan - Most Fours hit (75)
- Punjab Kings - Fairplay Award
With a second successive crown secured, RCB now stand alongside Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians as franchises to have won back-to-back IPL titles. Attention inevitably turns to whether anyone can stop them completing an unprecedented three-peat when the competition returns for its 20th edition.
