Shubman Gill dropped Virat Kohli on 19. The catch was overturned on review, Kohli stayed, the two captains exchanged words. By then, the match was already gone.
Gujarat Titans posted 155/8. RCB chased it down with 161/5 in 18 overs — five wickets in hand, 12 balls to spare. The final was less a contest than a confirmation. RCB are now the third dynasty in IPL history, after CSK and MI, and the only one of the three currently functioning.
GT Lost the Final in the Powerplay
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/29), 4/23 against MI in the eliminator still fresh, bent the new ball. Josh Hazlewood (2/37) hit hard lengths. Rasikh Salam Dar (3/27) — uncapped — became only the second uncapped bowler ever to take three wickets in an IPL final. The Narendra Modi Stadium is GT’s home venue and a batting paradise. They still folded for 155/8.
Washington Sundar’s fighting fifty was a one-man rescue mission with no rescuers in sight. The Gill–Sai Sudharsan opening pair that carried GT all season failed together for the first time when it mattered most — Gill’s 104 in Qualifier 2 a distant memory now. 155 on this pitch wasn’t a total. It was a surrender.
Kohli’s 75* — RCB’s Fastest IPL Final Fifty
He’s 37. He hadn’t scored a hundred all tournament. None of it stopped him reaching fifty in 25 balls — his fastest ever in the IPL, beating his 2018 mark of 26. Alongside him, Venkatesh Iyer helped RCB to the fastest team fifty in any IPL final, inside 3.3 overs.
Then Gill put down a diving catch that wasn’t quite a catch — dropped on zero against GT in the league stage and now dropped on 19 in the final. The third umpire ruled it out. Kohli, already running hot from his league-stage send-off to Gill, said his piece. He carried on to 75*. The target had been too small for the lifeline to actually matter.
Afterwards, Kohli said the pressure felt less than 2025’s chase against Punjab Kings. The deep squad, he said. He meant it about Rajat Patidar.
The Third Dynasty Is Quietly Terrifying
CSK won back-to-back in 2010-11. MI did it in 2019-20. Both franchises missed the 2026 playoffs entirely. RCB, after 17 years of failing in finals they couldn’t reach, won their maiden title in 2025 and defended it with a “minimum drama, maximum planning” performance that distinguishes champions from contenders.
Patidar captained both wins. Kohli scored the runs that mattered. The bowlers built the foundation. That’s not a fluke. That’s a system.