For 18 seasons, Royal Challengers Bengaluru built their IPL identity on batting and the hope that batting would be enough. Every title-contending version of this side carried the same flaw: a bowling unit that conceded what the order had built.
The 2025 edition broke that template. Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Krunal Pandya gave Rajat Patidar a defence capable of winning away from Bengaluru and then closing a 6-run final against PBKS at the Chinnaswamy.
The case for title defence in 2026
rests on squad continuity and what separated the two successful back-to-back defences in IPL history from the fifteen that failed.
Summary
| Key Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | Averaged 54.75 in IPL 2025 and began title defence with 69 not out off 38 balls vs SRH on March 28 |
| Tim David | Scored 68 death-over runs vs CSK on April 5, highest in a single IPL innings (ESPNcricinfo) |
| Away Record | RCB won all 7 away matches in IPL 2025, first team to achieve this |
| Josh Hazlewood | Took 22 wickets at an average of 15.8, best among pacers |
| Retention | Only 2 of 17 defending champions retained title; both kept bowling core. RCB retained 17 players |
5. Virat Kohli’s average of 54.75 is a tactical argument
Kohli scored 657 runs in 15 IPL 2025 matches at an average of 54.75. The number most fans notice first is the absent one: zero hundreds across the campaign. He scored 8 fifties and converted none of them. That conversion rate, examined in isolation, resembles a top-order batter who cannot find the accelerator past 50.
Those 8 fifties describe a batter managing the innings. Kohli's role in this lineup is to be the anchor that Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, and Tim David score around. He accelerates in the powerplay, controls the middle overs, and releases the innings once the platform is set. The 8 fifties reflect that function across 15 matches: productive without being dominant, present in every game without manufacturing one headline innings that overshadows the collective.
His 43 off 35 in the IPL 2025 final against PBKS was the top score in a team total of 190 for 9, a target PBKS reached within 6 runs before Krunal closed the match.
In IPL 2026 Match 1 against SRH on March 28, Kohli scored 69 not out off 38 balls as RCB chased 202 in 15.4 overs. That chase was the fastest successful pursuit of 200 or more in IPL history. Padikkal scored 61 off 26, and Kohli set the tempo that made the acceleration possible. No IPL opener who played 10 or more matches in 2025 averaged higher than 54.75.
4. Tim David’s 68 death-over runs have no comparable answer
In the 17th over on April 5, 2026, Noor Ahmad bowled to Tim David at the Chinnaswamy. Noor had been among the most economical spinners in IPL 2025. David hit him for three consecutive sixes. The over went for 23 runs.
Overton bowled the 19th over. David struck four sixes in that over, taking 30 runs. By the end of the innings, David scored 70 not out off 25 balls at a strike rate of 280.
His 68 runs in the death overs set the record for the most death-over runs by a single batter in an IPL innings. RCB posted 250 for 3 and won by 43 runs.
Rajat Patidar’s side can build conservatively for 15 overs and still reach 240 or more if David arrives with wickets in hand. Across two IPL seasons, no bowling unit has consistently countered his death-over hitting.
3. No IPL team had ever won every away match in one season
Before 2025, no IPL team had completed a full season with a perfect away record.
RCB in IPL 2025 won all seven of their away matches. Their home record was 2 wins and 5 losses. Despite struggling at home, they succeeded across venues like Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Jaipur, and Hyderabad.
Hazlewood’s seam bowling suited dry northern pitches, while Bhuvneshwar’s swing worked in coastal conditions. This adaptability allowed RCB to qualify with 9 wins, 7 of which came away from home.
In 2026, the same bowling trio remains, with Jacob Duffy added as a fourth option. If they replicate even 5 away wins, RCB gain a strong qualification base early.
2. The bowling unit RCB built has no historical parallel at this club
Before 2025, RCB relied on high scores rather than bowling strength. That changed in IPL 2025.
Josh Hazlewood took 22 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 15.8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar reached 200 IPL wickets, becoming only the second player to do so after Yuzvendra Chahal.
Krunal Pandya took 15 wickets and delivered a match-winning 2 for 17 in the final, earning Player of the Match.
Jacob Duffy joined in 2026 and took 3 for 22 on debut. This gives RCB a versatile and effective bowling unit capable of performing across conditions.
1. The two Successful title defences follow this pattern
RCB won their first IPL title on June 3, 2025. Their title defence began strongly in 2026 with a record chase of 202.
In IPL history, only two teams have successfully defended their title:
- Chennai Super Kings (2010–2011)
- Mumbai Indians (2019–2020)
The success rate is 2 out of 17, or 11.7 percent.
Both successful teams shared key traits:
- Retained core bowling units
- Strong start to the season
- Improved bowling performance in defence year
RCB matches this profile:
- Retained 17 players
- Core bowlers: Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar, Krunal
- Added Duffy as reinforcement
- Started 2026 with two wins
Their next match against MI on April 10 is away from Bengaluru, where their 2025 campaign was built.
Comparative Table
| Factor | RCB 2025–26 | CSK 2010–11 | MI 2019–20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Players retained from title squad | 17 | Core bowling trio retained | Core bowling trio retained |
| Primary wicket-taker | Hazlewood (22 wickets, average 15.8) | Morkel/Steyn (average below 20) | Bumrah/Boult (average below 20) |
| Start to defence season | 2 wins from 2 | At least 2 wins from first 3 | 3 wins from first 4 |
| Primary pace bowling average | 15.8 | Below 20 | Below 20 |
