Kohli stars as Bengaluru beat Gujarat to win second straight IPL title

Highlights

• Bengaluru beat Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the IPL final in Ahmedabad.
• Virat Kohli remained unbeaten on 75 and hit the winning six.
• Bengaluru chased 155 with 12 balls to spare to secure a second successive title.
• Rasikh Salam took 3-27, while Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar claimed two wickets each.

ROYAL Challengers Bengaluru won their second straight Indian Premier League title after beating Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Virat Kohli made an unbeaten 75 as Bengaluru chased down 155 with 12 balls to spare. He finished the match with a six and was later named player of the match.

Bengaluru had earlier restricted Gujarat to 155-8 after opting to bowl first at the Narendra Modi Stadium, which recorded an official attendance of more than 90,000.

"Stuff you dream of. Thought of this moment many times, wanting to hit the winning run," said the 37-year-old Kohli.

"Felt really relaxed coming in. The team we have gives confidence to see any kind of situation through. Knew exactly what to do in the chase. Such is the demand (with) super young players pushing you to up the ante."

Kohli added: "We knew what kind of ability we have in the group. And we just said one thing, 'If we stick to our cricket, if we execute our plans, we are the best team in the competition.'"

Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer gave Bengaluru a quick start with an opening stand of 62. Iyer made 32 off 16 balls before Mohammed Siraj dismissed him.

Kagiso Rabada then removed Devdutt Padikkal, while Rashid Khan struck twice in an over to dismiss Rajat Patidar for 15 and Krunal Pandya.

Tim David scored 24 and shared a 41-run stand with Kohli before being dismissed. Kohli stayed unbeaten and completed the chase alongside Jitesh Sharma.

Patidar joined M.S. Dhoni and Rohit Sharma as captains to win back-to-back IPL titles.

Bengaluru's bowling attack played a key role in the victory. Rasikh Salam took 3-27, while Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up two wickets each.

Hazlewood dismissed Gujarat captain Shubman Gill for 10, with Patidar taking a running catch. Kumar then removed Sai Sudharsan for 12.

Gill and Sudharsan were among the contenders for the Orange Cap, but Rajasthan Royals batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi finished as the top scorer this season with 776 runs.

Gill ended with 732 runs and Sudharsan with 722. Kohli finished fourth with 675 runs, including one century.

Nishant Sindhu made 20 and Jos Buttler scored 19 as Gujarat struggled against Bengaluru's bowling attack. Krunal Pandya had Buttler stumped as Gujarat slipped to 73-4 in 12.1 overs.

"We have apex predators but couldn't get going in the powerplay," said Gujarat batting coach Matthew Hayden. "I thought it was an incredible bowling performance by RCB."

Washington Sundar remained unbeaten on 50 and reached his half-century in the final over, but Gujarat could not recover.

The defeat left Gujarat runners-up for the second time in three IPL finals. Their only title came in 2022.