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Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is the champion of Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. They defeated Gujarat Titans (GT) in the final, with Virat Kohli playing a sensational innings in yet another run chase for the team. Rajat Patidar’s team created history by joining hands with Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by winning the trophy in two consecutive seasons.
Virat Kohli was excellent throughout the season, as he was the leading run-scorer for the franchise and played a completely different style in the recently concluded edition of the IPL. He played more aggressively while opening the batting and silenced his critics who criticized him for his strike rate in the shorter formats of the game.
Virat Kohli is important for the success of RCB
This season, Virat Kohli scored 675 runs in 16 matches at an impressive average of 56.25 and strike rate of 165.85, which included five half-centuries and one century, which came in the run chase against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). In this season, Virat broke many records and became the first batsman to score 9,000 IPL runs.
Apart from this, Virat Kohli is also the all-time leading run scorer in IPL with 9,336 runs. He also has the most centuries (9) in the history of the competition, and became the first batsman in IPL history to score more than 600 runs in four consecutive seasons.
Kohli’s IPL 2026 records
The former captain surpassed his own record by taking his run tally against Punjab Kings (PBKS) to 1,215 runs, the most by any player against a single IPL team. Kohli also holds the record for scoring the most runs in a season (973) in 2016.
Praising Virat Kohli’s hunger and determination, RCB Director of Cricket Mo Bobat has described him as unique and also said that Virat sets an example for the entire team with high intensity on and off the field and he works as a flag bearer for the team.
I think everyone knows what Virat is capable of – Mo Bobcat on Virat Kohli
“Virat, in very different ways, is incredibly unique. I think everyone knows what Virat is capable of and what he means to this franchise. I think he has scored 670 runs this season at a strike rate of about 165. Not a lot of players in the league are doing that or doing better than him. I think it’s fair to say that in the latter half of his career, he is still adapting, developing, improving and setting the bar,” Bobat said in a video shared by RCB.
Bobat added, “But specifically, there are two things that Andy and I really appreciate about him. Number one, Andy and I don’t really have to spend a lot of energy providing intensity to the group. Virat often provides that intensity. He doesn’t really do second or third gear, so that’s great.”
“The other thing about Virat is that he is a standard-bearer. Players don’t practice casually because he doesn’t practice casually. Players go to the gym and do their preparation because they see him doing the same. They contribute in meetings because he remains switched on in the meetings. Whatever, if he is the standard-bearer and he is this icon, then others have to follow him.”