Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter AB de Villiers heaped praise on star veteran batter Virat Kohli’s match-winning unbeaten 75-run knock in the IPL 2026 final, which helped his side beat Gujarat Titans (GT) by five wickets in Ahmedabad on Sunday and successfully defend their title.
Speaking on JioHotstar after the final, de Villiers highlighted Kohli’s importance to RCB’s batting line-up.
“In a final, if you take him out of that chasing batting order, then everything looks a bit different,” de Villiers noted. “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.”
Chasing 156 runs, RCB got off to a solid start before losing a few wickets in the middle overs. Kohli held the innings together with an unbeaten 75 off 42 balls, including nine fours and three sixes, at a strike rate of 178.57, which earned him the Player of the Match award. The 37-year-old had another outstanding season, finishing with 675 runs from 16 matches at an average of 56.25 and a strike rate of 165.84.
De Villiers also pointed to GT’s bowling strategy. He said, “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.”
For latest sports updates: Follow RevSportz