Ace India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Virat Kohli fittingly finished off the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League, as he smacked a six off Arshad Khan to help RCB win their second consecutive title and the RCB players ran onto the field in elation.
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Kohli masterminded the chase with the fastest half-century of his IPL career. Even as wickets fell in a brief cluster during the middle overs, he remained composed at one end, anchoring the innings and steering RCB home with two overs to spare.
RCB closed in on the target as the required run rate continued to fall. Kohli, who had earlier earned a reprieve when Shubman Gill couldn’t hold on to a catch, regained the strike from Jitesh
Sharma midway through the 10th over and continued to dictate the chase.
Kohli brought the scores level with a crisp four through the off side before finishing the tournament in emphatic fashion. He then launched Arshad’s delivery straight out of the slot over long-on for a towering six, sealing Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s second successive IPL title.
Watch the video here:
Finishing off in style 🥳
And it’s none other than King Kohli 😎👑
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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 31, 2026
Kohli remained unbeaten on 75 off 42 balls, striking nine fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 178.57. He ended the season with 675 runs, extending his brilliant consistency by crossing the 600-run mark for the fourth successive campaign.
“We have had to wait for so long and then just to have a group of guys where you feel like you are stepping onto the ground, you don’t need to be the one to step up every time,” Kohli said while speaking to the host broadcasters.
“These guys are behind you (and) around you, who can win games of cricket for you. We have so many Man of the Match awards spread throughout the group as well,” Kohli added.
