It is clear that cricket finals are never accomplished in just one moment. They are built little by little, step by step, in 20 over time periods. As for the final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans next week, the reverse has been equally true and this is just a clear indicator of all the efforts that RCB had put in to learn, plan and execute their game winning blueprint which they studied, planned and executed in great detail in that match by Reddyannaofficial.
Phase 1: The Toss and the Tactical Logic
Rajat Patidar hooked a first-class bowlers call at the Narendra Modi Stadium was not taken out of the blue. One of the key things RCB data analysts had observed as they got ready for the final was that GT’s batting unit gets measurably better when they bat second, especially in the pressure chase situations. Patidar eliminated that possibility for GT, who had to fly in new skies in a knockout situation, with the first ball shot without one to hit. With all things considered, the calculation was on point, with GT having lost their opener and the opener of Sai Sudharsan’s form at the state level material into the situation and another would-be high scorer averaging under 30 in 2026 finals was Shubman Gill.
Also an extra consideration was pitch. The Narendra Modi Stadium surface has been a friendly one for new ball seamers in the initial overs, especially during an evening when dew is not a factor. RCB’s new ball attack involving Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar was designed for just this.
Phase 2: Powerplay Bowling (Overs 1–6) — Rating: A+
The powerplays of the RCB team were virtually perfect. Gill was then dismissed in the third over in the middle of a length, which sliced back to the leading edge. In the next delivery he got rid of Sudharsan with the same signature seam, from where he gets an away ball to the right-hander. GT was well done to bring an end to the power play at 45-under at this hole, which is 1-under par.
The big tactical decision in this game was on the handling of Buttler by the RCB. RCB were able to protect Bhuvneshwar but in the powerplay, with him playing the role of the top scorer for the team in the league and going to his preferred leg-side angles they kept him covered. When Buttler got to Bhuvneshwars, the price board was already too much to bear.
Phase 3: Middle Overs Containment (Overs 7–15) — Rating: A
It was here that the presence of Krunal Pandya was going to be felt. Krunal created some tension by bowling two overs in the 7-9 half with no boundary, and forced Sindhu to go aerial and fall at long-on for the 20. Buttler’s 23-ball 19 came from an examination on which he couldn’t seem to get his rhythm, having to battle against bowlers at his weaknesses every time.
Tewitia was arguably the ball of the match, shot off the surface by Rasikh Salam who was cut back. The pair of Tewatia and Jason Holder were the major threat in the lower-middle order this year; with the second coming up with only a few balls Tewatia was ineligible to score in any important game, and GT failed to build the required pressure when they needed to.
Phase 4: RCB’s Powerplay Batting (Overs 1–6) — Rating: A+
RCB had to find a way to postpone from the first ball, while chasing the required run rate of 155. The duo of Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer had already plotted this out and rather than waste their two over quota, they went ahead and tested Kagiso Rabada 37 times. The data revealed that Kohli’s off-side activity against Rabada was an issue which saw Kohli strike just 194 off the side in his 12 matches against the former in the IPL 2025-26 season. The most successful powerplay bowling effort in the history of the IPL was delivered by this speedy team fifty (3.5 overs).
Iyer (32, 16 balls) was hit out by Mohammed Siraj, while Padikkal was lbw off a shot from Rabada. 70/2 at the powerplay end, which is to be expected as a controlled end with Kohli on a non-striker and Dinesh – another controlled bowler.
Phase 5: The Rashid Khan Threat and Kohli’s Counter
The most crucial point of the game was when they turned to the ninth over. Patidar and Krunal Pandya were bowled out within four balls by Rashid Khan, attempting to knock RCB back in such a low position, making an effort to revive the hopes of GTs. Right here, the game was really hanging in the balance.
What that led to — Kohli and Tim David’s partnership — was a textbook run-revenue play. In lieu of going into panic mode against Rashid, the latter was all set to take boundaries against pace bowlers with Kohli rotating strike properly. David’s ability to power hit the ball caused GT to find no excuse to give him the side.Against him, power-hitting David found ways to score just by being around. The duo added 41 off 36 deliveries to put RCB 31-run-larger at 132/5 with Jitesh Sharma and Kohli registering the next 29 from 17 balls to put the seal on the win. The chase was by no means in doubt in the 15th over.
Conclusion : RCB secured all of the vital wins. They had a very defined bowling strategy and bowled with remarkable precision. They were an experienced team with greatness for their batting chase. This wasn’t a close game, this was a clinical game. The night with the best-prepared team and the best player on the night can seem like it all just falls into place and RCB won back to back two trophies. For next season you may tune with us using Reddy Anna ID.