Daijiworld Media Network - Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad, Jun 2: England football captain Harry Kane joined the chorus of praise for Royal Challengers Bengaluru after the franchise successfully defended its IPL title with a five-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 final.
Taking to Instagram Stories, Kane congratulated RCB and hailed veteran batter Virat Kohli for his match-winning performance.
“What a player and what a knock @virat.kohli! Congrats @royalchallengers.bengaluru on making it back-to-back IPL titles,” Kane wrote.
RCB, who ended their 18-year wait for a maiden IPL trophy in 2025, successfully retained the title a year later with another dominant campaign. The triumph made them only the third franchise in IPL history, after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, to win consecutive IPL titles.
The victory also placed RCB skipper Rajat Patidar in elite company. Patidar became only the third captain after MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma to lead a team to back-to-back IPL championships.
Kohli once again played a key role in the title-winning campaign, finishing the final unbeaten on 75 and guiding RCB to victory at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Patidar, who scored more than 500 runs during the season, credited Kohli for helping him improve as a batter and for mentoring younger players in the squad.
“The way I look at my batting, I try to work on where I can improve, against pacers especially. I got a lot of ideas and help from Kohli bhai. Whenever I see him, he's always there for the team and all players. He goes to the young players even if they're nervous approaching him,” Patidar said.
Reflecting on his second IPL title as captain, Patidar said memories of last year's triumph returned as he walked into the stadium but stressed that the team remained focused on the task at hand.
“It feels superb. There were a lot of memories from last year but we had to stay in the present. Don't have words to express but feeling good,” he said.
Patidar added that RCB's strategy was clear after assessing the conditions, with the team confident about chasing the target.
“Our plan was clear, it was easier to chase. We wanted to get their top three. Our bowlers throughout the tournament have been superb. Bhuvi, Hazlewood, Rasikh, Krunal and Sheppie have all been superb,” he said.