New Delhi: Star batsman after Royal Challengers Bengaluru won second consecutive IPL title Virat Kohli took to social media with a special message celebrating another historic season for the franchise.RCB successfully defended their crown by defeating Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the final of IPL 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Kohli later shared a series of pictures with the IPL trophy and teammates Devdutt Padikal, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma and captain Rajat Patidar. “We asked ourselves a question last year – can we go back to back? Here we are again,” Kohli captioned the post.At 37-and-a-half years old, Kohli continues to evolve. The veteran batsman hit the fastest T20 half-century of his career and fulfilled a long-held dream by hitting the winning runs in RCB’s title-winning chase. His unbeaten 75 proved to be the cornerstone of RCB’s second IPL trophy.
“(It’s) something you dream about. (I) thought about that moment many times, wanting to hit the winning run,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.Asked about his blistering 25-ball fifty, Kohli explained how he has adapted his style to keep pace with the modern game.“Such is the demand (that) super young players are pushing you forward,” he quipped, but the seriousness of his statement was not lost on anyone.“I had to change my mindset, not so much my game, take on the bowlers and get extra runs,” he added.
One of the most satisfying aspects of the season for Kohli was the collective contribution from the team. In the first 10 matches, eight different RCB players won the Player of the Match award, underscoring the team’s depth.“We’ve had to wait so long and then just to have a bunch of guys where you feel like you’re hitting the ground running, you don’t have to be the one to step up every time,” Kohli said.“These are the guys behind you (and) around you, who can win games of cricket for you. We’ve also had a lot of man-of-the-match awards spread across the group.”“You look at the world-class bowling of Half (Josh Hazlewood), Bhu (Bhuvneshwar Kumar), Duff (Jacob Duffy), and Krunal Pandya – you can count on them as good as ever – Rashikh (Salam) Dar has been brilliant this season,” Kohli said.Kohli gave credit to the balance and quality of the squad assembled by the RCB management in the last two seasons.“I felt very comfortable coming in. The team we’ve trusted gives us the confidence to see out any situation. (We) knew exactly what to do in the chase.”He also emphasized that RCB is focusing on their cricket instead of worrying about the opposition.“Our first goal was to go top of the table. We didn’t care what jersey was in front of us. We are respectable, don’t beat any team. We have solid professionals and experience shines through.”Big opportunities for Kohli demand big performances from senior players.“Come big situations, you need big guys to step up. I know it’s a chase and they’ll try to get me out early, but I knew we had a champion team that could finish it off in 3-4 overs.”The former captain also revealed a message from director of cricket Mo Bobbitt after RCB’s maiden title in 2025, which became a driving force behind their title defence.“When we won last year, Mo Bobbitt said it’s not the end of the journey and we have to go back to back. At the start of the chase, I told Venky (Venkatesh Iyer) we need to finish the game on the power play. That was a clear explanation.”Kohli believes that the current RCB squad has the right balance and strength in all departments.“All the batsmen did as well. I am very happy to play in a group where we have balance, we have strength, and we are an all-round strong team and that is why we are confident on the field at the moment,” he said.He admitted that the pressure before this year’s finals was quite different from what the team experienced in 2025.“I told a few of the guys that it doesn’t feel like last year, we knew what kind of talent we had in the group,” he said.“We’re top of the table, there’s a reason we got here first and we just said one thing, ‘If we stick to our cricket, if we stick to our plans, we’re the best team in the competition’ and that’s the reason we’ve done so well so far.”“In the group stage, we ended up on top in the league stage and just the skill set (that) we have, the maturity, the passion of the boys showed again tonight and it was a clinical performance throughout the tournament,” Kohli said.Kohli also missed a crucial stage late in the season when RCB were tested after a short break, before regaining momentum with a narrow victory against Mumbai Indians in Raipur.“After the break, we had two losses… I mean, one loss, and then we had a close win against MI,” he said.“I would say that week was a bit tough for us because we wanted to go top, but as soon as we got there, with the win against (MI), the belief came back, then we got a comprehensive win against KKR and then, yeah, just topped the table and got to the final,” Kohli said.
Which aspect of RCB’s performance was most impressive?
Despite the final being played at Gujarat Titans’ home venue, Kohli was overwhelmed by the support RCB received from the stands.“We have not seven but 14 home games, we have the fans behind us all the time… 90 per cent of the fans are with us despite it being GT’s home ground.”
