IPL 2026 Season Review: All 10 Teams Rated As RCB Reign Supreme

The IPL 2026 kicked off on March 28, 2026, and wrapped up with a thrilling grand finale on May 31, 2026. Royal Challengers Bengaluru successfully defended their IPL crown in 2026, defeating Gujarat Titans in the final to become only the third franchise after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians to win back-to-back titles.

The overall narrative of the season was defined by intense competitiveness — with three teams tied on 18 points at the top — standout individual heroics, and the breathtaking emergence of young domestic stars. The biggest storyline was undoubtedly the emergence of incredible domestic stars, capped off by the 15-year-old phenom Vaibhav Sooryavanshi winning the Orange Cap with 776 runs, proving that Indian cricket is overflowing with world-class talent.

Final League Stage Standings

NRR separated RCB, GT, and SRH — all three finished the league stage on 18 points.

Playoff Results

Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Gujarat Titans by 92 runs in a comprehensive display at Dharamsala — the second-largest winning margin in IPL playoff history.

Player of the Match in the Eliminator was Vaibhav Sooryavanshi — 97 off 29 balls, 5 fours, 12 sixes, SR 334.48 — one of the great IPL playoff innings, with 12 sixes in a knockout match, before the age of 16.

Virat Kohli won Player of the Match in the final with an unbeaten 75 off 42 balls for RCB.

Playoff Bracket

Individual Awards

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi won the Most Valuable Player (MVP), the Orange Cap (for most runs), and Best Emerging Player — all after becoming the talk of the tournament for his 776 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 237.30. And all at 15 years of age.

Kagiso Rabada (GT) claimed the Purple Cap with 29 wickets, edging Bhuvneshwar Kumar by one wicket in the final itself. Sooryavanshi swept five awards: Orange Cap, MVP, Emerging Player, Super Striker, and Super Sixes. No player has done this before.

Full Awards List

Team-By-Team Review

1. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) — Champions

Final Finish: Winners (beat GT by 5 wickets in Final)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) showed their dominance by defending their title in IPL 2026. Rajat Patidar & Co. defeated the Gujarat Titans (GT) by five wickets in the final.

Veteran players Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bagged the spotlight, finishing as the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker for the team, respectively. Rajat Patidar, Venkatesh Iyer, and Devdutt Padikkal played a crucial role in batting, while Krunal Pandya impressed in both departments.

Kohli finished unbeaten on 75 as RCB chased down 156 with two overs to spare in the final.

Season Grade: A+ — Royal Challengers Bengaluru established absolute dominance by defending their title, proving they have cracked the championship code.

2. Gujarat Titans (GT) — Runners-Up

Final Finish: Runners-Up (lost Final to RCB)

Gujarat Titans finished as runners-up in IPL 2026. Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, and Jos Buttler rocked with their batting, but the rest of the batters could not impress. Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, and Rashid Khan formed a lethal bowling unit for the side.

An elite, fiery fast-bowling unit led by Kagiso Rabada, Shubman Gill’s majestic form and reliable opening partnerships, and a strong chasing mentality throughout the league stages were GT’s defining strengths. However, they fell short in the final hurdle again, showing vulnerability to the short ball during the playoffs and having a few quiet games from the lower-middle order.

Season Grade: A — A brilliant all-round campaign undone by RCB’s clinical playoff performances.

3. Rajasthan Royals (RR) — Semi-Finalists

Final Finish: Lost Qualifier 2 to GT

Rajasthan Royals made it to the playoffs and Qualifier 2, where they lost to the Gujarat Titans. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stole the limelight with the bat and also won the Orange Cap.

Sooryavanshi scored 776 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 237.30, becoming the youngest-ever Orange Cap winner. He smashed a record 72 sixes, breaking Chris Gayle’s record of 59.

Season Grade: A- — Despite Rajasthan Royals missing out on the final, the teenager walked away from the season as its undisputed star, collecting five individual awards and rewriting the history books in the process.

4. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) — Eliminated in Eliminator

Final Finish: Eliminated by RR in Eliminator

Sunrisers Hyderabad ended third despite having the same number of wins and points as RCB and GT. SRH won nine matches, lost five and finished with an NRR of +0.524.

Season Grade: B+ — Strongly competitive in the league stage but undone by Sooryavanshi’s extraordinary Eliminator innings.

5. Punjab Kings (PBKS) — 5th (Missed Playoffs)

Final Finish: 5th place — narrowly missed playoffs

Punjab Kings made a magnificent start in IPL 2026, winning six games in a row. However, they struggled with their form in the second half, losing six consecutive encounters. PBKS also failed to qualify for the playoffs, which shocked everyone.

Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh did a brilliant job as openers, while Shreyas Iyer and Cooper Connolly impressed in the middle order. Arshdeep Singh and Lockie Ferguson’s struggles led to their woes in the bowling department.

Season Grade: C+ — PBKS have a strong batting unit; however, they need to make some big changes in their bowling department next season.

6. Delhi Capitals (DC) — 6th

Final Finish: 6th place

Delhi Capitals (DC) failed to reach the playoffs for a second time in a row under Axar Patel’s captaincy. KL Rahul piled up more than 500 runs, but he was a lone warrior for the side. Mitchell Starc’s absence in the first half and Kuldeep Yadav’s poor form affected their bowling.

Season Grade: C — Poor collective contributions across the squad made a genuine playoff push impossible.

7. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) — 7th

Final Finish: 7th place

Ajinkya Rahane & Co. witnessed a horrible start in IPL 2026, losing five games in a row. They made a brilliant comeback in the second half but remained short of the playoffs berth. Angkrish Raghuvanshi grabbed the limelight with his batting heroics.

This is likely to be Ajinkya Rahane’s last season in Kolkata, as KKR could make major changes next season.

Season Grade: C — A chaotic season defined by poor starts that left too much ground to recover.

8. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) — 8th

Final Finish: 8th place

Chennai Super Kings once again failed to make it to the playoffs. They struggled with their teamwork in both batting and bowling, and key batters like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson struggled to score runs consistently. MS Dhoni did not play a single game due to an injury and might pull the curtains down ahead of the next season. A few youngsters like Urvil Patel and Ayush Mhatre impressed with their performances, but CSK need more changes in their squad ahead of the next season.

Season Grade: D+ — Legacy franchises like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings found themselves heavily outpaced and will need a strategic overhaul.

9. Mumbai Indians (MI) — 9th

Final Finish: 9th place

Mumbai Indians had a disastrous season and finished ninth in the standings. MI won only four matches and lost 10, finishing with eight points and an NRR of -0.584.

Mumbai Indians commenced the tournament with a victory, but they soon struggled to win games. Jasprit Bumrah’s dramatic dip (just four wickets in 13 games) and Hardik Pandya’s poor form (226 runs, 4 wickets) were central to MI’s collapse.

Season Grade: D — Systemic failure from captain, lead pacer and senior players simultaneously.

10. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) — 10th (Bottom)

Final Finish: 10th (last) place

Lucknow Super Giants also ended with eight points after winning four and losing 10 matches. Their NRR of -0.740 was the worst among all teams this season.

Rishabh Pant’s second season as the most expensive player in IPL history (₹27 crore) yielded just 312 runs at an average of 28.36, with LSG finishing rock-bottom with only 8 points and the worst NRR in the competition.

Season Grade: F — The worst NRR in the tournament summarises a season that went wrong in virtually every department.

Read More: Tim David Fined 50% Of Match Fee And Handed One-Match Ban After IPL 2026 Final Ice Bag Incident

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