King of the chase: Kohli’s record-breaking 81 fires RCB to second spot

On a night when records kept tumbling, Virat Kohli once again stamped his authority at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, guiding Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a five wicket win over Gujarat Titans in a high scoring thriller.

Chasing a daunting 206, Kohli led from the front with a composed 81, while Devdutt Padikkal provided the perfect attacking foil with a quickfire 55 off 27 balls. The win pushes RCB to second place on the IPL 2026 points table, strengthening their position as serious title contenders heading into the business end of the season.

The turning point came right at the start. Kohli was handed a lifeline on the very first ball as Washington Sundar dropped a sharp chance. That miss proved costly. Making the most of it, Kohli went on to create history, becoming the first player in IPL history to reach 800 fours. He now sits at 807 boundaries, going past Shikhar Dhawan. He also became the first player to cross 10,000 T20 runs in a single country and the first to hit 300 sixes for a single franchise.

After an early setback with the dismissal of Jacob Bethell, Kohli found strong support in Padikkal. The pair stitched together a crucial 115 run partnership in just 59 balls, shifting the momentum firmly in RCB’s favour. While Kohli controlled the innings, Padikkal took on the bowlers, ensuring the required rate never spiralled.

There was a brief moment of tension when both set batters departed in quick succession, but Krunal Pandya kept his composure, finishing unbeaten on 23 off 12 balls to seal the chase with seven balls to spare.

Earlier, Sai Sudharsan starred for Gujarat Titans with a brilliant 100 off 58 balls. In the process, he became the fastest player to reach 2,000 IPL runs, going past Chris Gayle. Alongside Shubman Gill, who scored 32, Sudharsan powered GT to 205 for 3.

At the halfway stage, the total looked competitive, but Gujarat’s bowling attack, including Rashid Khan, failed to contain the Kohli Padikkal partnership. With 10 points from seven matches, RCB are now closing in on the top spot, while Gujarat Titans are left to reflect on a missed chance that changed the game.