NEW DELHI: Emotions, cheers and thunder reverberated around the Narendra Modi Stadium. Rajat Patidar After Royal Challengers Bengaluru clinched their second consecutive IPL title by defeating Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the IPL 2026 final in Ahmedabad, they stepped up for the post-match offer.RCB, who won their maiden IPL crown in Ahmedabad in 2025, successfully defended the title a year later, becoming only the third franchise after Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings to achieve the feat. The victory extended the streak of Qualifier 1 winners to nine consecutive seasons. The victory put Patidar in elite company, making him only the third captain in IPL history to win back-to-back titles.MS Dhoni achieved the feat with Chennai Super Kings in 2010 and 2011, while Rohit Sharma did the honor for Mumbai Indians in 2019 and 2020.After the moment of winning the title, Patidar took to social media to describe the achievement in four words.“E sala cup namadu,” wrote Patidar.Reflecting on the campaign, Patidar admitted that the pressure this season was very different from what the team experienced a year ago.“Last year was very stressful, this year was more calm because the way we played throughout the tournament, we dominated this year,” Patidar said after the match.“So we had a lot of confidence that if we play like this we are definitely going to win another title for RCB.”Talking about his style of captaincy, Patidar said his calm demeanor should not be mistaken for lack of awareness.“I am not expressing myself but at the same time I am aware of the situation in the game. Of course you need support, as I said there is a lot of support from the management and the players as well.”
Patidar has also given special praise. Virat KohliHe said that the former captain’s influence on and off the field continues to influence the squad.Kohli’s unbeaten 75 in RCB’s chase of 156 against Gujarat Titans took the team home with two overs to spare in Ahmedabad.The star batsman ended the season with 675 runs which included a century and five fifties.“If I talk about Virat Kohli, I don’t have words to describe him. He is used to doing great things,” Patidar told reporters.“He is a great player, everyone knows him – the way he bats. We all get to learn from him on and off the field. We spend a lot of time with him and try to learn whatever he has to say about cricket or anything else,” the RCB captain said.
