Virat Kohli played through cramps as he chased the target in the IPL 2026 final. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain could feel the discomfort every time he sprinted between the wickets, but he refused to let it disturb his rhythm. With the pressure of a 156-run chase hanging over the innings, Kohli remained steadfast and finished not out on 75, guiding RCB to their second title in two years. The triumph has placed the Bengaluru franchise alongside Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians as the only sides to have captured back-to-back IPL crowns.
After the final, Kohli spoke with relief and reflected on how this championship run differed from the previous one. He said the long wait has meant a great deal, and that the team’s environment this time has felt different—more like a group where everyone believes they can contribute when it matters, rather than relying on a single person to keep stepping up.
“We’ve had to wait for so long and then just to have a group of guys where you feel like you’re stepping onto the ground, you don’t need to be the one to step up every time,” Kohli said during the post-match interaction with the host broadcaster. He added that the confidence within the squad goes beyond batting, pointing to how teammates are ready to turn matches with both bat and ball.
Kohli also highlighted the bowling resources available to RCB, citing the presence of Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy and Krunal Pandya as key options. He remarked that Krunal remains a dependable performer and praised Rasikh Dar for his impact throughout the season. According to Kohli, the wider spread of match-winning moments across the group has been one of the defining traits of RCB’s campaign.
He further explained that the side’s balance and overall strength are visible in the way they operate on the field. “All the batsmen chipped in as well. I feel so happy to play in a group where we have balance, we have strength, and we are an all-around strong team and that’s why we have the confidence we have on the field right now,” Kohli said.
For Kohli, the feeling of the final itself was unlike the previous year’s experience. He said he had spoken with a few teammates beforehand, telling them that it did not carry the same weight as last time. “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,” he added.
Kohli also pointed to RCB’s consistency over the season, noting that finishing on top of the table was not accidental. He said the team’s mindset was rooted in staying true to their brand of cricket and executing plans, believing that doing so would make them the best unit in the competition. He described the campaign as clinical, emphasising that they finished first in the league stage and that the maturity and composure of the players were evident throughout the tournament.
“We topped the table, there’s a reason why we got here first and we just said one thing, if we stick to our cricket, if we execute our plans, we are the best team in the competition and there’s a reason why we’ve done well so far. In the group stage, we ended up topping the league stage and just the skill sets that we have, the maturity, the composure of the guys just showed through again tonight and it was a clinical performance throughout the tournament,” Kohli said.
He acknowledged that RCB faced a few challenges after a short break in the season, but said a key run of results helped restore belief. Kohli said a close victory over Mumbai Indians in Raipur was an important turning point, followed by more convincing performances that kept the team moving in the right direction.
“RCB were tested after a short break for them in the season but a close victory over Mumbai Indians in Raipur instilled the belief back in the group,” Kohli said, before elaborating on the sequence of results. “After the break, we had a couple of losses… I mean, one loss, and then we had a close win against MI.”
Kohli described that period as tricky because the team wanted to finish at the top, but said the win against MI revived confidence quickly. He then noted that RCB followed it up with a comprehensive victory over KKR, before concluding the league phase by topping the table and progressing steadily to the final.
“I’d say that week for us was a bit tricky because we wanted to finish top, but as soon as we got there, the win against MI, the belief kicked back in, then we had a comprehensive win against KKR and then, yeah, just ended up topping the table and just on our way to the final,” Kohli concluded.
