Ahmedabad, June 1 (IANS) Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill admitted his side fell short of making a big score in the IPL 2026 final, conceding that a bigger total could have changed the complexion of the contest, where they lost by five wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Gill’s reflection came after Royal Challengers Bengaluru defended their crown in front of a packed crowd, powered by Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 75 – his fastest IPL fifty coming off 25 balls. Kohli’s knock helped RCB chase down 156 with two overs to spare, and ensured the side joined Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings as the only teams to defend their IPL title successfully.

“If we’d have gotten 180-190, it’d have been a good match. Maybe a little two-paced but not too much. There’s some early movement for pacers. We lost early wickets and never got momentum. We felt we’ll be in the game if we took 1-2 wickets in the powerplay,” said Gill at the conclusion of the game.

RCB’s seamers had earlier set the tone for the win on a mixed soil pitch, with Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar striking early and Rasikh Salam Dar returning with figures of 3-27. Washington Sundar’s fighting fifty lifted GT to 155, but the total proved to be insufficient against Kohli’s brilliance.

“We gave 15-20 too many, and they got away in the powerplay. We were one of the best bowling sides. We came back strong after losing the first two games. Kept challenging and improving ourselves. Very happy overall. Couldn’t get over the line. Still would’ve had things to improve on even if we’d won the trophy,” added Gill.

Despite losing the final, GT got a cheque of Rs 12.5 crore for being IPL 2026 runners-up. The side also saw pacer Mohammed Siraj win the award for most dot balls in the season (172), while left-handed opener Sai Sudharsan claimed the prize for most fours hit in the competition (75).

–IANS

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