AB de Villiers feels that without Virat Kohli in their batting order, Royal Challengers Bengaluru would have found it difficult in the IPL 2026 final. Kohli was in vintage form as RCB defeated Gujarat Titans to successfully defend their IPL title and also win their second trophy. During the run chase, RCB batters came and left, but Kohli was resolute and paced his approach with his unbeaten 42-ball 75.
Chasing 156 runs, RCB got off to a strong start via opener Venkatesh Iyer, who raced to a 16-ball 32 before losing his wicket in the fifth over. Introduced as an Impact Player, he hit four fours and two maximums, and also struck at 200.00. After Iyer’s departure, RCB suddenly went through a shaky phase as batters came and went. Devdutt Padikkal (1), Rajat Patidar (15) and Krunal Pandya (1) failed to have an impact with the bat, and it was only after Tim David’s arrival that the pressure reduced on Kohli.
Then, Kohli also got to his fastest-ever IPL fifty, off only 25 balls. David’s 24 off 17 balls was key, and he was dismissed in the 14th over, bowled by Arshad Khan. But it didn’t make a difference as Kohli’s unbeaten 42-ball 75* took RCB To 161/5 in 18 overs. The RCB veteran also smacked nine fours and three sixes, striking at 178.57.
AB de Villiers hails Virat Kohli
Speaking on JioHotstar, De Villiers, who is a former RCB teammate of Kohli, said, “In a final, if you take him out of that chasing batting order, then everything looks a bit different.”
“With Rashid Khan firing from one end, and some of the other GT bowlers also doing really well, he just brings that calmness. He knows how to pace a chase right through the innings and finish it off. And it’s very fitting that he was there right at the end, scoring the winning runs.
“GT were a bit naughty in feeding him into his strengths. A lot of deliveries were on the legs in his first 20-30 runs. If you give one of the best players of all time a start like that, he’s always going to punish you. Once he started flowing, it was just plain sailing, one-way traffic. To be there at the end and call those final moments was absolutely phenomenal,” he added.
