Ahmedabad, 31 May

It was a night dotted with chilling certainty.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru translated their domination from Day 1 of this IPL into a second successive title, and Virat Kohli anchored that five-wicket romp over Gujarat Titans with a patented chase masterclass of unbeaten 75 here on Sunday.

If the Titans’ innings of 155 for eight was filled with trepidation, Royal Challengers’ 161 for five in 18 overs was full of confidence.

And those words are forever entwined with Kohli’s batting and the latest evidence was his 42-ball unbeaten innings.

As he has done throughout his career, the batting super star strode out with an unflinching desire to take his side home.

That purpose was evident in his dismantling of Kagiso Rabada with a sequence of 4, 4, 6, 4, right after his opening partner Venkatesh Iyer handed the South African a similar punishment in the second over that yielded 18 runs.

Kohli and Venkatesh added 62 runs in just 4.3 overs to rain even on the distant dreams of the Titans.

Once Rabada was nullified in three straight overs of his, the Titans did not have enough ammunition in the Power Play, in which RCB amassed 70 for two, to make an impact.

The dismissal of Venkatesh and Devdutt Padikkal followed by the quick departure of skipper Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya saw RCB slipping to 91 for four.

But amid this little cavern of chaos, Kohli stood firm like a fort, stopping GT’s advances, and the 37-year-old reached his fifth fifty of the season with pulled four off pacer Arshad Khan.

Tim David (24, 17b) produced a mini storm that eased the pressure on Kohli, who survived a scare as Shubman Gill's catch off Arshad was found to have bumped on the grass in the umpire's review.

The champion batter soon so befittingly fetched the winning moment for RCB with a six off Arshad.

The RCB dugout transformed into a school children’s after examination party.

Skipper Rajat Patidar, who joined MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma as the only captain to have defended an IPL title, shed his usual stoic face, breaking into a wide grin.

Others around him rushed to the field to gather around Kohli, the beating heart of his franchise since 2008.

But before Kohli put on display his undimmed abilities in white ball format, RCB bowlers exploited a slow pitch to perfection, restricting a lethargic Gujarat Titans to a sub-par 155 for eight.

Shot-making was not exactly an easy proposition on the pitch No. 6 at the Narendra Modi stadium, a mix of red and black soil, and it aptly reflected in the GT batting.

Washington Sundar resisted the trend with an unbeaten 50 (37b, 5x4), but the damage around him was far too big.

The fatigue of playing Qualifier 2 on Friday and a delayed departure because of inclement weather at Mullanpur also might have added to their woes.

But none of that should not take any credit away from the RCB bowlers.

The Titans needed skipper Gill and his opening partner B Sai Sudharsan to fire upfront to pile a competitive total, but they failed.

A steady beginning was not alien to GT openers but Gill’s swat off Josh Hazlewood (2/37) took the leading edge of his bat to create a simple catch for his opposite number Patidar.

The GT batting lost its rudders, ending an underwhelming Power Play phase at 45 for two.

That the Titans had to wait till the 13th over for the first six off their innings underlined GT’s turmoil.

A moment of suspense

Kohli was seen frustrated with the umpire’s decision to adjudge him out. The suspenseful moment happened on the final ball of the 16^th over of RCB’s chase. Kohli hit Arshad Khan’s ball towards mid-off. Shubman Gill dived for the catch, but Kohli said the GT captain grassed the ball. A third umpire confirmed that the ball indeed touched the ground slightly and said Kohli was not out.