He Sealed It With A Six. Virat Kohli. 75 Not Out. Back-To-Back IPL Titles. RCB Are Champions Of The World Again.

 

When the moment came, it came the way Virat Kohli moments always do — with a six.

The ball from Washington Sundar was full, inviting, slightly too straight. Kohli was on 70. RCB needed four more runs to win. He stepped across his stumps, picked up the line early, and launched it over the mid-wicket boundary with a swing that had no doubts in it anywhere. The ball cleared the rope by ten metres. The Narendra Modi Stadium — all 132,000 people of it, the largest cricket ground in the world, packed with Gujarat Titans supporters who had come hoping to witness a title on their home ground — fell silent for just a moment before the RCB fans scattered across the stands erupted.

Back-to-back IPL titles. Only the third team in the tournament's nineteen-year history to defend their crown, after Chennai Super Kings in 2010 and 2011, and Mumbai Indians in 2019 and 2020. And at the centre of it — as he has been at the centre of everything good that has happened to Royal Challengers Bengaluru this season — Virat Kohli. 75 not out. 42 balls. Nine fours and three sixes. His fastest ever IPL half century, brought up in 25 balls. Player of the Match. Player of the Final. The man who refused to let it slip.

RCB won by five wickets with 12 balls to spare. Gujarat Titans had posted 155 for 8 — a total that felt below par on the Ahmedabad surface, despite the quality of RCB's bowling — and Kohli chased it down almost single-handedly, keeping his composure through four quick wickets in the middle of the chase to ensure the title never genuinely felt in danger. The second star is on the badge. The dynasty, if one word can describe two consecutive titles, has begun.

He Was 22 Off 14. Then He Hit 71 Off 19. Rajat Patidar's Innings Against GT Was The Most Extraordinary Thing IPL 2026 Has Produced.

There is a moment in every great innings when the match stops being a contest and becomes something else entirely. When the bowlers are still trying, still running in, still going through their plans — but everyone watching knows it is over. The batter has simply decided.

That moment came at HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Monday night when Rajat Patidar was 22 off 14 balls. Scratchy. Cautious. Not himself. Kagiso Rabada had already beaten his outside edge twice. Jason Holder had bowled him a delivery that he had mistimed straight to cover — and then watched it land six inches short of the fielder's hands, dropping safely to the turf for a single.

Then something shifted.

He launched Rashid Khan — the best spinner in the IPL, a bowler who had been among the tournament's top wicket-takers all season — over extra cover on the full. Not over mid-wicket. Not over long-on. Over extra cover, off a good-length ball, one-handed at the point of contact. It was the shot of a batter who had decided the match was over. And from that moment, it was.

In the next 19 balls, Rajat Patidar scored 71 runs. He finished on 93 not out off 33 deliveries. Strike rate 281.81 — the highest ever for a captain in a fifty-plus innings in IPL history. Nine sixes. Six fours. One dot ball. And at the end of it, Virat Kohli — standing at the non-striker's end, watching his captain dismantle the best bowling attack in the competition — was visibly slack-jawed.

RCB posted 254 for 5. The highest total in IPL playoff history. GT were bowled out for 162 in reply. RCB won by 92 runs. And on Sunday, May 31, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, they will play Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 final — their second consecutive final, defending the title they won last year.

Cricket Today – March 30, 2026: IPL Points Table, MI's Chase, PSL Week 1 Wrap & RCB Analysis

 Two days. Two IPL thrillers. Three PSL results. And cricket is already on fire.

The weekend is over. The dust has settled — barely. IPL 2026 has delivered two back-to-back blockbusters, PSL 2026's first week has wrapped up with some stunning cricket, and we already have a very good idea of which teams mean business this season. Here is everything you need to know from the cricket weekend of March 28–29, 2026 — in one place.

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🟠 IPL 2026: The Tournament Opener Sets the Tone

Match 1 — RCB vs SRH | March 28 | Chinnaswamy Stadium

Result: Royal Challengers Bengaluru won by 6 wickets
SRH: 201/9 | RCB: 203/4

The defending champions did what defending champions do — they found a way. Sunrisers Hyderabad posted a competitive 201/9 at the Chinnaswamy, a total that would have buried most teams. RCB weren't most teams. They chased it down with 6 wickets to spare, and the message to the rest of the tournament was loud and clear: this team is ready to go back-to-back.

For everything you need to know about the opening night — including the MS Dhoni injury bombshell that turned the tournament upside down before a ball was bowled — read our full RCB vs SRH preview and match report here.

Match 2 — GT vs MI | March 29

Result: Mumbai Indians won by 6 wickets
GT: 220/4 | MI: 224/4

If Match 1 was a statement, Match 2 was a masterclass. Gujarat Titans posted 220/4 — a score that should have been enough to win any game of cricket. Mumbai Indians made it look routine. They crossed the line at 224/4, winning by 6 wickets in what was arguably the most commanding run-chase of IPL 2026's opening weekend.

Two hundred and twenty is not a total you chase casually. Mumbai Indians did exactly that — and it raises serious questions about whether Gujarat Titans' bowling attack has the firepower to defend totals this season. MI, meanwhile, look ominous from ball one.

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📊 IPL 2026 Points Table — After Opening Weekend

Team	Matches	Won	Lost	Points	NRR
Royal Challengers Bengaluru	1	1	0	2	+ve
Mumbai Indians	1	1	0	2	+ve
Sunrisers Hyderabad	1	0	1	0	-ve
Gujarat Titans	1	0	1	0	-ve

Remaining six teams — CSK, KKR, DC, RR, LSG, PBKS — are yet to play their first match.

Early days? Absolutely. But both RCB and MI look in brilliant shape heading into their next fixtures. Two wins, two convincing performances, and two very different stories — the defending champions doing what they know best, and a Mumbai side that looks like a title-winning machine in the making.

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🟢 PSL 2026: Week 1 Full Wrap

While IPL was stealing the headlines, PSL 2026 was quietly delivering some exceptional cricket of its own. Here's the full PSL weekend in one clean summary.

For the full PSL Week 1 build-up and opening night coverage, read our PSL opener report here.

🏏 PSL Result 1 — Multan Sultans won by 5 wickets

Multan Sultans chased down 171 in fine style, reaching 175/5 to claim an important five-wicket win. The Sultans look balanced, dangerous, and ready to challenge for a title this season.

🏏 PSL Result 2 — Quetta Gladiators won by 40 runs

The most comprehensive win of the PSL weekend. Quetta posted 174/8 and then bowled their opponents out for just 134/8 — a 40-run margin that suggests they have a seriously potent bowling attack when the conditions are right.

🏏 PSL Result 3 — Karachi Kings won by 4 wickets

The lowest-scoring game of the weekend, but no less dramatic for it. Karachi chased down 128 in a nervy finish, eventually winning by 4 wickets at 131/6. It wasn't pretty, but the Kings will take the two points and move on.

Early PSL 2026 Verdict

Three matches, three different winners. There is no standout dominant force in PSL 2026 just yet — and that might be the most exciting thing about this year's edition. Every team looks competitive. Every game looks winnable. This is exactly what a good T20 league should look like.

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🌍 The Bigger Picture: Cricket in an Extraordinary Season

It is easy to get lost in the match results and forget just how remarkable it is that both IPL and PSL are running simultaneously — against the backdrop of a geopolitical crisis that threatened both tournaments just weeks ago.

We covered the full story of how the Middle East conflict, the TTP threat, and the airspace crisis almost derailed both leagues before they even began. Read that full piece here — it remains one of the most important cricket stories of 2026.

The fact that both leagues are now producing brilliant cricket, filling stadiums, and generating global excitement is a testament to how resilient this sport — and its fans — truly are.

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👀 What to Watch This Week

• IPL 2026 — The remaining eight teams enter the fray. CSK without Dhoni face their first real test. KKR, DC, RR, LSG and PBKS all make their tournament debuts.
• PSL 2026 — The league continues to take shape. Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars — two of the most glamorous franchises in the tournament — are yet to show their hand.
• The SRH Response — Ishan Kishan's team were beaten in the opener. We covered Kishan's appointment as SRH captain in detail here. How he responds to this early setback will define his captaincy.
• Dhoni Watch — MS Dhoni remains sidelined for CSK's first two weeks. Every update on his recovery will be the biggest story in Indian cricket until he returns.

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Final Word

Two IPL matches. Three PSL results. A points table already taking shape. And the biggest names in world cricket are just getting started.

IPL 2026 has given us 220-run chases and 200-run totals in its first two games. PSL 2026 has given us five-wicket wins, 40-run drubbings, and nervy four-wicket finishes. If this is the standard the next two months will be played at, we are in for one of the greatest cricket seasons in recent memory.

Stay locked in. The Yorker Crew has you covered for every match, every twist, and every story that matters.

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