The Night RCB Finally Wrote Their Destiny
This is it. The one every RCB fan has dreamed about for nearly two decades. The IPL 2026 Final is no ordinary cricket match — it is the culmination of years of heartbreak, near-misses, and unfulfilled promise. Tonight, Royal Challengers Bengaluru face Gujarat Titans on the grandest stage Indian cricket offers. And right now, it looks like destiny is wearing red and gold.
Gujarat Titans set a target of 156 after posting 155/8 in 20 overs — competitive, yes, but entirely manageable from the moment Virat Kohli walked out to bat. At the time of writing, RCB sit at 116/4 after 12 overs, needing just 40 more runs off 48 deliveries. The required rate is a meagre 5.00. With Kohli on 54 off just 28 balls at a strike rate of 192.86 — this game is firmly in RCB's hands.
🔥 Live Match Stats At A Glance
GT's Innings: Washington Sundar Rescues The Chase With Classy 50
Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the toss and chose to bowl first — a bold call that made sense. Set RCB a reachable target, and let the crowd see Kohli bat with the game on the line. Captain's chess. And for the most part, the bowlers delivered brilliantly.
Gujarat Titans came out swinging, but wickets fell at crucial junctures. Shubman Gill fell for just 10 off 8 balls, caught at third man off Josh Hazlewood. Sai Sudharsan followed for 12, stumped off Bhuvneshwar Kumar, leaving GT in trouble at 26/2 inside four overs. Jos Buttler, normally a destroyer of attacks, struggled to find rhythm and ground his way to just 19 off 23 balls before being stumped off Krunal Pandya. Nishant Sindhu offered some solidity with 20 before falling to Rasikh Salam. At the halfway mark, GT were 73/4, and a total around 130–140 looked the limit.
But then came Washington Sundar — and he changed everything. Batting for GT's lower-middle order, Sundar was ice-cold. He rotated strike beautifully, found boundaries at will, and crafted an unbeaten 50 off 37 balls including 5 fours. Contributions from Mohd Arshad Khan (15 off 6 balls, 2 sixes), Rahul Tewatia (7), and Rashid Khan (7 off 3, with a six) pushed GT to 155/8 — at least 15–20 runs above what had looked likely at the midpoint.
🏏 Gujarat Titans Batting Scorecard
| Batter | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sai Sudharsan | 12 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 100.0 |
| Shubman Gill | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 125.0 |
| Nishant Sindhu | 20 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 111.1 |
| Jos Buttler | 19 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 82.6 |
| Washington Sundar * | 50 | 37 | 5 | 0 | 135.1 |
| Mohd Arshad Khan | 15 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 250.0 |
| Rahul Tewatia | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 140.0 |
| Jason Holder | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 140.0 |
| Rashid Khan | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 233.3 |
| Kagiso Rabada * | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.0 |
🎳 RCB Bowling Figures
| Bowler | O | R | W | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Duffy | 4 | 38 | 0 | 9.50 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 4 | 29 | 2 | 7.25 |
| Josh Hazlewood | 4 | 37 | 2 | 9.25 |
| Krunal Pandya | 4 | 23 | 1 | 5.75 |
| Rasikh Salam Dar ⭐ | 4 | 27 | 3 | 6.75 |
Rasikh Salam Dar was the standout bowler with 3/27 — a stunning display from the young pacer who has come of age this IPL season. Krunal Pandya's off-spin was excellent value at just 5.75 economy. Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar each picked up two wickets in disciplined spells.
King Kohli's Chase — The Stuff of Legend
If Gujarat Titans thought 155 would be enough to stop an RCB side boasting the greatest chaser in T20 history, they were wrong from ball one. Venkatesh Iyer and Virat Kohli walked out to roars that shook the stadium, and within five overs, the openers had already buried the game into the opposition's half.
The opening stand produced 62 runs off just 27 balls. Iyer was breathtaking — smashing 32 off 16 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes before Mohammed Siraj got him caught at deep fine leg. But when Iyer went, there was no panic, because Kohli was still there. And Kohli — what can one even say? The man who cried after near-misses, who shouldered every loss, who refused to give up on this team — he is currently batting on 54 off just 28 balls at a strike rate of 192.86. Seven fours, two sixes, and nowhere near done.
Rashid Khan tried to apply the brakes, picking up two wickets — dismissing Rajat Patidar (15) and Krunal Pandya (1) in quick succession to leave RCB at 91/4. A brief wobble. But with Tim David now alongside Kohli, and RCB needing just 40 runs off 48 balls at a required rate of 5.00, this match is still firmly in the red corner.
🏏 RCB Batting Scorecard — Live (12 Overs)
| Batter | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venkatesh Iyer | 32 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 200.0 |
| Virat Kohli * 🔥 | 54 | 28 | 7 | 2 | 192.9 |
| Devdutt Padikkal | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 |
| Rajat Patidar | 15 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 115.4 |
| Krunal Pandya | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.0 |
| Tim David * | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 122.2 |
⚡ Key Moments So Far
Why RCB Are Overwhelming Favourites To Win This Final
Let's do the maths. RCB need 40 off 48 balls — a run rate of exactly 5.00. They have six wickets in hand. Their most experienced death-over batter, Tim David, is settled at the crease alongside perhaps the greatest chaser in T20 history in Kohli. Even if both fall, they still have the lower order to come — though hopefully it never gets there.
For GT to win, they would need to take six wickets in 48 balls while conceding fewer than 40 runs. With Kohli at 192+ strike rate, that borders on impossible. Rashid Khan has bowled two overs conceding just 12, but he is the only bowler who has looked threatening. Mohammed Siraj gave away 36 off 4 overs, and Kagiso Rabada — one of the best in the world — has bled 44 off 3 at an economy of 14.67. The RCB bats have simply been too hot.
The only genuine threat from GT would be an extraordinary collapse — the kind RCB fans have nightmares about. But this is a different RCB. More balanced. More composed. And with King Kohli at the crease, belief is not just present — it is absolute.
🎳 GT Bowling In The Chase
| Bowler | O | R | W | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammed Siraj | 4 | 36 | 1 | 9.00 |
| Kagiso Rabada | 3 | 44 | 1 | 14.67 |
| Rashid Khan ⭐ | 2 | 12 | 2 | 6.00 |
| Jason Holder | 2 | 16 | 0 | 8.00 |
| Mohd Arshad Khan | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 |
RCB vs GT: A Final For The Ages — And It's Not Over Yet
No matter what happens in the next eight overs, this IPL 2026 Final has already given us memories that will last a lifetime. The drama of GT's mid-innings recovery through Washington Sundar, the fireworks of the Kohli-Iyer opening blitz, the brief Rashid Khan scare — this is exactly the cricket that makes IPL the greatest T20 league on earth.
Virat Kohli is 40 runs away from potentially the most important innings of his extraordinary IPL career. Tim David is in the perfect role as finisher. And for once — just once — everything seems to be lining up for Royal Challengers Bengaluru to finally lift that elusive IPL trophy.
Stay locked into TrendyInfo for every ball, every boundary, every wicket as this epic final plays out. History is being written. Be here for it.
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