A brilliant unbeaten 75 from Virat Kohli and a disciplined bowling performance powered Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to their second consecutive Indian Premier League (IPL) title, defeating Gujarat Titans (GT) by five wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday night.
Chasing a modest target of 156, RCB anchor Virat Kohli paced the innings masterfully smashing a 42-ball 75* his fastest-ever IPL half-century and highest playoff score to cross the finish line with 12 balls to spare.
Earlier, RCB won the toss and elected to field on a sticky surface. The decision paid immediate dividends as pace ace Josh Hazlewood dismissed dangerous GT opener and skipper Shubman Gill for just 10 runs in his opening spell. Gujarat struggled to build partnerships against a relentless RCB attack, losing wickets at regular intervals.
A fighting, unbeaten 50 from middle-order batsman Washington Sundar guided the Titans to a total of 155 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs. Right-arm pacer Rasikh Salam Dar starred with the ball for Bengaluru, picking up 3 for 27 to take his season tally to 19 wickets. Veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar claimed 2 for 29, while Krunal Pandya choked the run flow with a tight spell of 1 for 23 removing the dangerous Jos Buttler.
With this comprehensive victory, RCB becomes only the third team in IPL history to successfully defend their crown, completing a remarkable turnaround after waiting 18 years for their maiden trophy.
