Kohli stars as Bengaluru retains IPL title with win over Gujarat

Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 75 as Royal Challengers Bengaluru successfully defended their Indian Premier League (IPL) title with a five-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans in the final on Sunday.

Chasing a modest target of 156 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru reached 161-5 in 18 overs after restricting Gujarat to 155-8 in their allotted 20 overs.

Kohli anchored the chase with a 42-ball knock featuring nine fours and three sixes, sealing the victory with a six. It was his sixth score of 50 or more this season. Venkatesh Iyer also played a crucial cameo, scoring 32 off just 16 deliveries.

With the triumph, Bengaluru became only the third franchise in IPL history to win back-to-back titles, joining Chennai Super Kings (2010-11) and Mumbai Indians (2019-20).

Kohli ended the season with 675 runs in 16 matches, while pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished with 28 wickets.

Earlier, Kumar claimed 2-29 and Josh Hazlewood took 2-37 as Bengaluru’s bowlers kept Gujarat’s batting lineup under control.

Washington Sundar top-scored for Gujarat with an unbeaten 50 off 37 balls, including five boundaries. No other batter managed to score more than 20 runs. Rasikh Salam Dar was the pick of Bengaluru’s bowlers with figures of 3-27 from four overs.