RCB beat GT by 5 wickets in the Final; Kohli scored 75* off 42 balls
Sooryavanshi won Orange Cap (776 runs, SR 237.30); Rabada won Purple Cap (29 wickets)
RCB are only the third team to defend the IPL title, after CSK and MI
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is officially in the books, and what a season it was. From a teenage sensation rewriting the record books to a legendary franchise cementing their dynasty, IPL 2026 delivered thrilling contests, records, and memories that will be talked about for years.
Here's your complete wrap of everything that went down this season:
RCB Makes History: Only The Third Franchise To Defend IPL Title
Royal Challengers Bengaluru etched their name into cricket history on June 1, 2026, defeating Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the IPL 2026 Final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. In doing so, RCB became only the third franchise ever to successfully defend the IPL title, joining MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings (2010-11) and Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians (2019-20) in an elite club.
For an iconic franchise that spent 17 years with a drought of an IPL trophy, winning back-to-back titles is nothing short of a seismic shift in Indian cricket's most glamorous league.
IPL 2026 Final Scorecard: GT 155/8 vs RCB 161/5
GT Batting: A Disciplined RCB Bowling Attack Does the Damage
Sent in to bat, Gujarat Titans lost both openers inside the powerplay, captain Shubman Gill dismissed for 10 by Josh Hazlewood and Sai Sudharsan removed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Nishant Sindhu and Jos Buttler steadied briefly before both fell, leaving GT gasping at the halfway stage.
It was Washington Sundar who rescued the innings with a composed 50 not out off 37 balls, but it wasn't enough to post a competitive total. GT finished on 155/8 in 20 overs, with Rasikh Salam leading RCB's bowling attack with figures of 3/27, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood chipped in with two wickets each.
RCB Chase: Kohli Takes Centre Stage Once More
RCB's run chase was anything but straightforward. Openers Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer came out blazing, putting on a half-century partnership in just 3.5 overs, the fastest team fifty in an IPL Final, breaking CSK's previous record set at the same venue. Iyer fell for a rapid 32 off 16, but Kohli never took his foot off the pedal.
Rashid Khan threatened with a double strike in the 9th over, reducing RCB to 91/4, but Kohli, measured, dominant, and absolutely unrelenting, brought up his fastest-ever IPL fifty off 25 balls. He ended unbeaten on 75 off 42 balls, guiding RCB home in 18 overs with five wickets in hand, the team's 19th season producing yet another masterclass from its greatest-ever servant.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: The 15-Year-Old Who Owned IPL 2026
If there is one story that defined IPL 2026, it is the emergence of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 15-year-old from Bihar's Samastipur dominated the season in a way that no teenager ever has in IPL history.
IPL 2026 Orange Cap Winner: Sooryavanshi's Historic Numbers
776 runs in the season, highest run-scorer overall
Strike rate of 237.30, the highest ever recorded by an Orange Cap winner in IPL history
72 sixes, most maximums by any batter in IPL 2026
Individual awards won: Orange Cap, MVP, Emerging Player, Super Striker, Super Sixes, a clean sweep of individual honours
Sooryavanshi managed to win the IPL 2026 Orange Cap despite RR missing out the final. He is followed on the run charts by Shubman Gill (732 runs) and Sai Sudharsan (722 runs), both of whom crossed 700 runs in the same season, a first in IPL history. Virat Kohli, despite his final heroics, finished fourth on the list with 675 runs in 16 matches at an average of 56.25.
IPL 2026 Purple Cap Winner: Kagiso Rabada Edges Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The Purple Cap race went down to the wire in what was one of the tightest bowling contests in recent IPL memory. Gujarat Titans pacer Kagiso Rabada claimed the Purple Cap with 29 wickets for the season, edging out RCB's veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who finished with an outstanding 28 wickets in 16 matches.
Bhuvneshwar, playing his most prolific IPL season in years, actually equalled Rabada's tally during the final before Rabada claimed one more wicket to clinch the cap. It was a fitting subplot in a high-stakes final
Top Stats of IPL 2026 at a Glance
| Category | Player | Number |
| Most Runs (Orange Cap) | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR) | 776 |
| Most Wickets (Purple Cap) | Kagiso Rabada (GT) | 29 |
| Most Sixes | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR) | 72 |
| Most Boundaries | Sai Sudharsan (GT) | 75 |
| Highest Strike Rate | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR) | 237.3 |
| Player of the Final | Virat Kohli (RCB) | 75* (42) |
| MVP of the Tournament | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR) | — |
Biggest Storylines of IPL 2026
Gujarat Titans' Heartbreak in Their Third Final
GT reached their third IPL Final, a remarkable achievement for a young franchise, but went home without the title for the second time. Shubman Gill's side combined two batters (Gill and Sudharsan) scoring 700+ runs in the same season for the first time ever, yet the firepower wasn't enough against a battle-hardened RCB.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's Indian Renaissance
Few would have backed Bhuvneshwar Kumar to be the co-leader of the Purple Cap race entering 2026, but the veteran swinger turned back the clock with 28 wickets, including a decisive two-wicket haul in the Final. His resurgence was one of the heartwarming stories of the season.
Green Dot Ball Award: Siraj's Eco-Conscious Excellence
Mohammed Siraj won the Green Dot Ball award for bowling 172 dot balls across the season, which translated into the planting of 3,268 trees through the IPL's sustainability initiative, a reminder that cricket is finding ways to make its footprint count beyond the boundary.
RCB's Championship Legacy: Where Do They Stand Now?
With two titles (2025 and 2026), RCB have finally shed the 'nearly men' tag for good. They now sit alongside Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, both five-time champions, as franchises that have retained an IPL title. For millions of long-suffering RCB fans, this back-to-back triumph is redemption on an epic scale.
Virat Kohli, now in his 19th IPL season, continues to defy age and logic. His 648 runs in the season prior to the final at a strike rate of 167.01 made him one of the top performers, and his match-winning unbeaten 75 in the Final was the defining innings of this season's climax.
Final Verdict: IPL 2026 Was a Season for the Ages
Between a 15-year-old smashing records at a strike rate nobody has seen before, RCB becoming a genuine dynasty, and Kagiso Rabada and Bhuvneshwar Kumar going toe-to-toe for the Purple Cap until the very last delivery of the season, IPL 2026 had something for everyone. The tournament continues to grow in spectacle and scale, and if this season is any indication, IPL 2027 cannot come soon enough.
