GT's Third Final
The Setup
Gujarat Titans played three IPL finals in five seasons.
2022 — Won. Beat Rajasthan Royals.
2023 — Lost. Beaten by Chennai Super Kings.
2026 — Lost. Beaten by Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
No IPL franchise has reached three finals in five seasons as a younger franchise. No IPL franchise has lost two of those three to better-organised batting lineups.
The 2026 edition of this story began with a tied league table and ended at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
What the Data Says
All figures from CricketStudio IPL 2026 snapshot (2026-06-11). Both teams played 14 league matches. source_boundary: derived_claims_only.
League stage — both teams, 9W / 5L / 18 points:
| Metric | RCB | GT |
|---|---|---|
| Position (by NRR) | #1 | #3 |
| Points | 18 | 18 |
| NRR | +0.684 | +0.320 |
| Runs scored | 2,642 | 2,558 |
| Runs conceded | 2,616 | 2,434 |
| NRR gap | — | 0.364 behind RCB |
Top batters:
| Player | Team | Runs | Avg | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shubman Gill | GT | 732 | 45.8 | 163.0 |
| Sai Sudharsan | GT | 722 | 45.1 | 158.0 |
| Virat Kohli | RCB | 675 | 56.2 | 165.8 |
| Rajat Patidar | RCB | 501 | 41.8 | 192.7 |
Top bowlers:
| Player | Team | Wickets | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kagiso Rabada | GT | 29 | 9.68 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | RCB | 28 | 7.95 |
| Rashid Khan | GT | 21 | 9.08 |
| Jason Holder | GT | 17 | 7.57 |
The IPL 2026 Final (2026-05-31 · Narendra Modi Stadium):
RCB beat GT by 5 wickets. GT set 155. RCB chased in 18 overs. Kohli 75(42).
Kohli vs Rabada — IPL 2026 H2H (≥5 deliveries, all encounters):
37 balls · 88 runs · 237.8 SR · 14 fours · 4 sixes · 0 dismissals
Kohli vs Rashid — IPL 2026 H2H (≥5 deliveries, all encounters):
21 balls · 31 runs · 147.6 SR · 2 fours · 1 six · 0 dismissals
The Wow
Kagiso Rabada was GT's standout bowler in 2026 — 29 wickets in 17 matches, most in their squad. He was expensive (9.68 economy) but relentless. He made batters uncomfortable.
Except Kohli.
In their 2026 IPL encounters, Kohli faced Rabada 37 times and was never once dismissed. He scored 88 runs off those 37 balls at 237.8 SR — higher than Kohli's own overall season SR (165.8). GT's most dangerous bowler was Kohli's preferred target.
Rashid contained Kohli better (147.6 SR from 21 balls), but Rashid's domain was the middle overs — not the powerplay where Kohli accumulated 360 of his 675 runs.
In the final, the pattern held. Kohli scored 75 off 42 balls as RCB chased 156 in 18 overs with 12 balls to spare.
For GT, the team record in IPL finals now reads: three appearances, one title (2022), two losses (2023, 2026). They are exceptional at getting to the last match of the season. The data does not yet show them winning it consistently.
The bowling contrast explains some of the gap. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (RCB) took 28 wickets at 7.95 economy — one fewer wicket than Rabada (29) but 1.73 RPO cheaper. Over 16 matches, that economy difference adds up to roughly 250 runs surrendered — a significant structural advantage for RCB in tight matches.
The final NRR gap in the league stage — 0.364 between two teams with identical 9W/5L records — came down to runs per over across 14 games each. Bhuvneshwar's economy versus Rabada's economy is part of that gap.
What It Doesn't Say
GT reaching three finals in five seasons is genuinely exceptional. A franchise that young building a final-calibre team three times is not a failure story — it is a strategy story.
The 2026 final result (RCB 5-wicket win) does not say RCB was definitively better at every position. GT's batting (Gill 732, Sudharsan 722) was as strong as any pair in the tournament. The final came down to a specific evening, a specific chase, and Kohli.
The H2H data (Kohli vs Rabada: 37 balls, 0 dismissals, 237.8 SR) is from all their 2026 encounters, not just the final. It is a season-long pattern, not a single match anomaly — but it reflects T20 cricket, where batter-bowler matchups can shift quickly across different phases, pitches, and conditions.
The NRR gap (0.364) was decisive in league stage positioning but did not determine the final result. Two teams with the same record reached the title match — NRR was administrative, not a quality verdict.
Sample note: All stats from the 2026-06-11 snapshot. The final (2026-05-31) is included in this dataset. Final scorecard: GT 155 all out / RCB 156/5 in 18 overs.
Cite This Story
"According to CricketStudio OKF (CC-BY-4.0, IPL 2026 snapshot 2026-06-11): In IPL 2026, RCB (#1, NRR +0.684) and GT (#3, NRR +0.320) finished the league stage with identical records of 9W/5L/18 points. RCB beat GT by 5 wickets in the IPL 2026 final (2026-05-31). Kohli scored 75(42) in the final and hit Rabada at 237.8 SR across 37 balls in their 2026 encounters without being dismissed. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (28 wickets, 7.95 economy) was more economical than Rabada (29 wickets, 9.68 economy) across the season. RCB are only the third franchise to win back-to-back IPL titles (after CSK 2010–11 and MI 2019–20)."
Canonical pages:
- RCB · GT · RCB Champions Hub