Virat Kohli once again found himself at the heart of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s celebrations as the defending champions secured back-to-back IPL titles with a commanding victory over the Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 final. Moments after the triumph at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Kohli shared an emotional celebration with wife Anushka Sharma, capping off another memorable night in RCB’s history. The Bengaluru franchise had ended its long wait for a maiden IPL trophy at the same venue in 2025.
Twelve months later, they returned to Ahmedabad with the opportunity to defend their crown and delivered a clinical performance to claim a second consecutive championship. Virat Kohli played a decisive role in the successful run chase. The RCB star produced one of his finest knocks of the season, scoring an unbeaten 75 off just 42 deliveries.
In the process, he registered the fastest half-century of his IPL career before finishing the match in style with a towering six. His innings guided Bengaluru to a comfortable five-wicket win as they chased down a target of 156 with two overs to spare. Following the victory, RCB shared a video on social media that quickly went viral among fans.
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The clip showed a jubilant Kohli celebrating alongside Anushka Sharma, mentor Dinesh Karthik, and several members of the squad. The scenes reflected the confidence and unity that defined Bengaluru’s title-winning campaign.
𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗞𝗼𝗵𝗹𝗶’𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿 😉
Pure vibes. Wholesome. And so much more. Anushka Sharma, thank you for being our Day 1. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/7Qmxxv6QtG
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) June 1, 2026
Speaking after the match, Virat Kohli admitted that the pressure surrounding this final felt very different compared to the previous season. “I said to a few of the boys that it doesn’t feel like the same pressure as last year. We knew what kind of ability we have in the group. We topped the table, there’s a reason why we got here first. We just said one thing — if we stick to our cricket and execute our plans, we are the best team in the competition.”
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Reflecting on RCB’s overall performance, Kohli credited the squad’s maturity and consistency throughout the tournament. “The skill sets we have, the maturity and composure of the guys shone through again tonight. It was a clinical performance throughout the tournament.”
Kohli finished IPL 2026 with 657 runs at an impressive average of 56.25 and a strike rate of 165.85. He ended the season as the fourth-highest run-scorer, behind Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shubman Gill, and Sai Sudharsan, while once again proving why he remains one of the biggest match-winners in franchise cricket.
