Virat Kohli steered Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a second consecutive IPL title on 1 June 2026 in Ahmedabad, anchoring the chase with an unbeaten 75 as the defending champions defeated Gujarat Titans in a commanding final. The victory makes RCB only the third franchise in IPL history to successfully defend the title.

Conviction Over Pressure

Speaking after the win, Kohli drew a sharp contrast between this campaign and last season's maiden title run. '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,' he said. The former India captain attributed the team's composure to a clear, unwavering game plan — trusting their cricket rather than reacting to the occasion.

'If we stick to our cricket, if we execute our plans, we are the best team in the comp,' Kohli added, noting that topping the league stage was no accident but a reflection of consistent execution across the group stage.

A Tricky Mid-Season Patch

Kohli acknowledged that the road to the final was not entirely smooth. After the mid-season break, RCB suffered a loss before scraping through a nervy contest against Mumbai Indians (MI). 'That week for us was a bit tricky because we wanted to finish top,' he admitted. However, he identified that narrow win over MI as the campaign's turning point. 'As soon as we got that win against MI, the belief kicked back in. Then we had a comprehensive win against KKR and then just ended up topping the table,' Kohli recalled.

Squad Depth: The Real Differentiator

Kohli reserved his warmest words for the squad's collective strength, emphasising that no single player bore the weight of the title defence alone. 'You don't need to be the one to step up every time. There's guys behind you, around you, who can win games of cricket for you,' he noted. He singled out standout contributors across departments — Hoff, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Duffy, Krunal Pandya, and Rasikh Dar among the bowlers, with the batting unit also chipping in consistently throughout the season.

Notably, RCB accumulated multiple Man of the Match awards across the group stage, a statistical marker of the spread of match-winning performances rather than dependence on one individual.

Clinical All-Round Display in the Final

'The skill sets we have, the maturity, the composure of the guys just shone through again tonight and it was a clinical performance,' Kohli said of the final. The win cements RCB's standing as the IPL's most consistent side over the last two seasons, having transformed from perennial contenders into back-to-back champions. With this title, the franchise joins an exclusive club alongside only two other IPL teams to have defended the trophy. How RCB sustain this dominance heading into the next cycle will be the question the cricketing world watches closely.