Aussie quick Josh Hazlewood won his third IPL crown as Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 75 guided Bengaluru to the 2026 title
Josh Hazlewood has again proved why he’s the worldwide master in white-ball finals, spearheading Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s successful defence of their IPL crown with another magnificent display in their triumph over Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad.
Hazlewood’s fellow Aussie Tim David played his part in RCB’s successful pursuit too on Sunday, helping Virat Kohli, the peerless run-chase master, in a key stand as they pulled off a five-wicket victory with 12 balls remaining.
Kohli was unbeaten on 75 off 42 balls, steering RCB to their target on 5-161, but his embrace of fellow veteran Hazlewood demonstrated just how much the Bendemeer 35-year-old had earlier done to pave the way, amazingly, for his 10th victory in a white-ball final.
“That was right up there,” said Hazlewood of his third IPL triumph, having taken 15 wickets after joining RCB halfway through the season after recovering from injuries.
“Someone always stepped up when they needed to. We had like 10 different man-of-the-matches, so amazing depth in the squad. Anyone who came in did a great job.”
Including him, of course. For after being asked to bowl, the Aussie spearhead lit the fuse in his opening over, dismissing India Test captain Shubman Gill second ball to put Gujarat’s Matthew Hayden-coached batting line-up under pressure immediately.
With his strike partner Bhuvneshwar Kumar impressing once again with his 2-29 and fellow pacer Rasikh Salam taking 3-27, Hazlewood again rose to the occasion in front of more than 100,000 fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium to take 2-37, after also getting rid of the threatening Arshad Khan.
Though Washington Sundar did take some late runs off him to reach an unbeaten half-century and give Gujarat a fighting chance at 8-155, there was an inevitability about the outcome once 37-year-old Kohli got to work serenely.
His 68th IPL fifty, to go with his nine tons, was his fastest half-century, his terrific knock featuring three sixes and nine fours, and when there was a slight alarm for RCB as they slipped to 4-91, David helped him steady the ship in a 41-run partnership that all but cemented the triumph.
David scored 24 off 17 before getting caught behind, ending his season with 305 valuable ‘finishing’ runs at a strike-rate of 188, leaving Kohli to finish the job with a straight six as he totalled 675 runs for the season at an average of 56.25.
He finished fourth in the list of top run-scorers, with the amazing 15-year-old Rajasthan batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ending with the ‘orange cap’ with a total of 776 runs that included, almost unbelievably, 72 sixes. The teen also won the tournament MVP gong.
Hazlewood’s white-ball finals triumphs
– 2012 Champions League T20 (Johannesburg): Sydney Sixers beat Lions (Hazlewood’s figures: 4-1-21-3)
– 2015 ODI World Cup (Melbourne): Australia beat New Zealand (8-2-30-0)
– 2015 One-Day Cup (Sydney): NSW beat South Australia (9.3-1-28-3)
– 2020 BBL (Sydney): Sydney Sixers beat Melbourne Stars (3-0-18-1)
– 2021 One-Day Cup (Sydney): NSW beat Western Australia (10-1-29-0)
– 2021 IPL (Dubai): Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders (4-0-29-2)
– 2021 T20 World Cup (Dubai): Australia beat New Zealand (4-0-16-3)
– 2023 ODI World Cup (Ahmedabad): Australia beat India (10-0-60-2)
– 2025 IPL (Ahmedabad): Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Punjab Kings (4-0-54-1)
– 2026 IPL (Ahmedabad) Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Gujarat Titans (4-0-37-2)
IPL 2026 standings
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Ties
T
Drawn
D
No results
N/R
Net Run Rate
NRR
Deductions
Ded.
Batting Bonus
Bat
Bowling Bonus
Bowl
Total points
PTS
1
RCB
14
9
5
0
0
0
0.783
0
0
0
18
2
GUT
14
9
5
0
0
0
0.695
0
0
0
18
3
SUN
14
9
5
0
0
0
0.524
0
0
0
18
4
RAJ
14
8
6
0
0
0
0.189
0
0
0
16
5
KXI
14
7
6
0
0
1
0.309
0
0
0
15
6
DEL
14
7
7
0
0
0
-0.651
0
0
0
14
7
KKR
14
6
7
0
0
1
-0.147
0
0
0
13
8
CSK
14
6
8
0
0
0
-0.345
0
0
0
12
9
MI
14
4
10
0
0
0
-0.584
0
0
0
8
10
LSG
14
4
10
0
0
0
-0.74
0
0
0
8
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
D: Drawn
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
Bat: Batting Bonus
Bowl: Bowling Bonus
PTS: Total points
Australians in IPL 2026
Chennai Super Kings: Matt Short ($255k), Spencer Johnson ($255k, replaces Nathan Ellis ($340k))
Delhi Capitals: Mitchell Starc ($2m)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Josh Hazlewood ($2.13m), Tim David ($510k)
Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis ($1.9m), Ben Dwarshuis ($745k), Mitchell Owen ($510k), Cooper Connolly ($510k), Xavier Bartlett ($136k)
Kolkata Knight Riders: Cameron Green ($3.5m)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins ($3.5m), Travis Head ($2.38m), Jack Edwards ($510k, withdrawn)
Lucknow Super Giants: Josh Inglis ($1.49m), Mitchell Marsh ($578k)
