Royal Challengers Bengaluru became only the third team in history to successfully defend the Indian Premier League title as they beat Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the IPL 2026 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Only two teams –  MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (2010 and 2011) and Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians (2019 and 2020) – had successfully defended the IPL title before this.

RCB put on a disciplined bowling effort, spearheaded by Rasikh Salam and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to restrict Gujarat Titans to just 155/8.

Despite some turbulence, Virat Kohli scored a fantastic 75 off 42 balls to guide RCB past the total in 18 overs.

Sent in to bat first, GT had an early scare after the umpire deemed Sai Sudharsan caught behind in the very first over but the decision was overturned following a DRS review.