IPL 2026: How every piece of the puzzle fell into place for Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Cricket News
Seventeen years taught Royal Challengers Bengaluru how to endure. One title taught them how to win.“Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing,” Vince Lombardi once famously said. For the longest time, RCB seemed trapped in the latter cycle. Season after season, they carried the hopes of one of the IPL’s most passionate fanbases, only to fall short.That wait finally ended in 2025, and by successfully defending their crown in 2026, RCB doubled their IPL trophy tally in the space of two seasons and became only the third franchise after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to retain the IPL title.Rajat Patidar joined an elite club of captains alongside MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, while RCB completed a transformation few would have imagined during the franchise’s years of heartbreak.For nearly two decades, RCB were defined by superstars. Virat Kohli was the centrepiece and remains so. Before him and alongside him were icons such as AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle.Yet the unlikely catalyst behind the franchise’s golden era has been Patidar, the understated captain from Madhya Pradesh who now has two IPL titles to his name and has overseen the most successful period in the franchise’s history.
Ahmedabad: Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s players celebrate with the tournament trophy during the presentation ceremony after winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 title, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, late Sunday, May 31, 2026. (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary)
More importantly, the 2026 campaign proved that the 2025 triumph was no fluke. It was merely the beginning. After years of searching for the right combination, RCB’s think tank of Mo Bobat, Andy Flower and Dinesh Karthik assembled a squad that was not dependent on one individual carrying the burden.The old RCB often relied on individual brilliance. There were seasons powered by Gayle’s destruction, campaigns rescued by de Villiers and years when Kohli shouldered almost the entire batting responsibility. Kohli still led from the front in 2026, finishing as the franchise’s leading run-scorer once again, but this time he had support. Plenty of it.The march towards a second successive title fittingly ended at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the venue where RCB had broken their curse a year earlier.Winning a title is difficult; defending one is an altogether different challenge. But RCB were up for it. They finished atop the points table with nine wins in 14 league matches, brushed aside Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 and then repeated the feat in the final against the same opponents.
Calm Head, Aggressive Team
At the centre of that transformation stood Patidar.
Rajat Patidar
When he took over the captaincy, the challenge extended far beyond tactics. Over the last two seasons, however, Patidar has quietly moulded the team in his own image: calm off the field, aggressive once the contest begins.The captain also led from the front with the bat, finishing the season with 501 runs at an average of 41.75 and a strike rate of 192.69. His 42 sixes were among the highest in the tournament.When RCB stumbled against Rajasthan Royals, Patidar rebuilt before accelerating to 63. At Wankhede, he smashed 53 off just 20 balls. Against Lucknow Super Giants, his 61 nearly dragged RCB to an unlikely chase. Then came Qualifier 1, where he produced arguably the innings of the season, blasting 93 off only 33 deliveries with nine sixes to effectively settle the contest before Gujarat Titans had even begun their pursuit.Yet even in a team that had evolved beyond dependence on individuals, Kohli remained its foundation.
Virat Kohli: Still The Standard Bearer
At 37, Kohli once again topped RCB’s run charts, scoring 657 runs at an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 165.49, with one century and five half-centuries. His unbeaten 105 against Kolkata Knight Riders silenced any doubts after consecutive ducks. His 81 against Gujarat Titans in a chase of 206 was pure class. His unbeaten 69 in the season opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad ensured RCB’s title defence began with a statement victory.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Virat Kohli celebrates with teammates after their win in the Indian Premier League final cricket match against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad.
And when the biggest stage arrived, Kohli once again found a way to leave his mark. The man who had spent nearly two decades carrying the hopes of the franchise produced his fastest IPL fifty in the final (75*), setting up the chase that sealed RCB’s second consecutive title.
Different Heroes, Same Result
As Josh Hazlewood became the perfect foil to Bhuvneshwar Kumar with the ball, Devdutt Padikkal emerged as the ideal partner for Kohli and Patidar in the batting unit.Padikkal returned to Bengaluru last season after enduring difficult spells elsewhere, but IPL 2026 was his true renaissance. He finished with 464 runs at a strike rate of 168.72 and consistently supplied the aggression.His 61 off 26 balls against SRH turned a daunting chase of 202 into a comfortable pursuit. His fifty against CSK laid the platform for RCB’s mammoth total of 250. Against GT, he scored a crucial 55 off 27 deliveries.The batting depth did not end there.Tim David‘s role was clear from the start: finish games. His 305 runs came at a strike rate of 189.44. The defining performance arrived against CSK, when he blasted an unbeaten 70 off just 25 deliveries. Throughout the season, David delivered impactful cameos that repeatedly tilted matches in RCB’s favour.
Krunal Pandya celebrates after taking the wicket of Jos Buttler. (Pic credit: IPL)
Alongside him stood Krunal Pandya, one of the most valuable all-rounders in the tournament. Krunal scored 226 runs at an average of 37.66 while striking at 145.80 and also chipped in with 14 wickets. His contributions often arrived in moments of crisis.The 73 against Mumbai Indians in the dramatic last-ball victory at Raipur was as clutch a performance as any during the season.Phil Salt’s season was curtailed by injury, but his impact when available was huge. In just six innings, he scored 202 runs at a strike rate of 168.33 and provided explosive starts that helped establish RCB’s aggressive identity early in the tournament.Not to forget Venkatesh Iyer, who warmed the bench for most of the IPL 2026 before being pressed into action when both Bethell and Salt were unavailable and provided the impetus with the bat in the playoffs. His 73* off 40 at No.4 vs PBKS was the standout. If the batting supplied the firepower, the bowling supplied the control that ultimately separated RCB from the rest of the field.
Bhuvi, Hazlewood And The New RCB Formula
For years, RCB’s batting attracted most of the attention while questions lingered over their attack. Bhuvneshwar Kumar changed that. The veteran seamer finished with 28 wickets at an average of 17.89 – just one shy of the Purple Cap – and an economy rate below eight.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls a delivery during the Indian Premier League final cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Ahmedabad, India, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
His spell against DC, where he and Hazlewood reduced the opposition to 8 for 6, was among the most devastating new-ball performances of the season. Against MI, he delivered another match-winning spell. Time and again, Bhuvneshwar gave RCB early control, allowing the rest of the attack to operate from positions of strength. At 36, he looked every bit the leader of a championship bowling unit.Hazlewood’s numbers were modest by his lofty standards — 15 wickets from 13 matches — but his influence was immense. The Australian relentlessly hit hard lengths, created pressure and repeatedly forced batters into mistakes.Then there was Rasikh Salam.The young fast bowler emerged as one of the discoveries of the season, collecting 19 wickets in just 12 matches. Trusted in difficult phases of the innings, Rasikh repaid that faith with breakthroughs at crucial moments and completed a pace attack that combined experience with youthful energy – his three-wicket haul in the final a testament to that.
Ahmedabad, May 31 (ANI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Rasikh Salam Dar celebrates the wicket of Gujarat Titans’ Nishant Sindhu during their Indian Premier League 2026 Final match at Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad on Sunday. (ANI Photo)
Even when Hazlewood missed games early in the tournament, Jacob Duffy stepped in seamlessly and chipped in during the final as well.Viewed individually, those performances were memorable victories. Viewed collectively, they tell a larger story.Every major win featured a different hero. Sometimes it was Kohli. Sometimes Patidar. Sometimes Padikkal. Sometimes David. Sometimes Krunal. Sometimes Bhuvneshwar. Sometimes it was the bowlers operating as a collective unit. That was the defining characteristic of this championship side.
Every major win featured a different hero. Sometimes it was Kohli. Sometimes Patidar. Sometimes Padikkal. Sometimes David. Sometimes Krunal. Sometimes Bhuvneshwar. Sometimes it was the bowlers operating as a collective unit. That was the defining characteristic of this championship side.The first IPL trophy ended one of the league’s longest waits. The second confirmed something even more important. Royal Challengers Bengaluru are no longer a franchise chasing history. They may well be on their way to creating one.
