A brief interaction between Virat Kohli and Sai Sudharsan on the field has made it to one of the most talked about topics of the IPL 2026 final between RCB and GT. The pair did greet and shake hands though which put a full stop on all assumptions of any heated argument.
The incident occurred just before the 17th over of RCB's chase at the Narendra Modi Stadium, where Sai Sudharsan walked up to Kohli at the non-striker's end and shared a word or two with him. Though it was not clear what the duo spoke about Sai's gestures suggested it could have been an indirect reference to something Kohli said in the game.
Kohli didn't react to the same during his conversation and went back to his crease whereas the chat between the two players did not turn into an argument and seemed more like friendly banter. The two shook hands moments later before the 17th over began showcasing mutual respect in spite of their earlier chat.
This gesture from the two players was well received by the fans who saw a good contest played with great spirit.
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The Origin of the Kohli-Sai Sudharsan Exchange
The verbal altercation between the two players appeared to begin during Gujarat Titans innings when Kohli spoke to Sai Sudharsan from up close on regular occasions after the dismissal of the GT captain Shubman Gill. The stump microphone also managed to capture parts of their conversation.
It was reported that Kohli told Sai that the youngster might be feeling the pressure after the early wicket and that the opener seemed under a lot of pressure. The verbal war only made the contest more exciting for the fans during the powerplay overs.
Soon after this Sai Sudharsan failed to make an impact as the left-handed batter ended up mistiming the shot that saw him get dismissed by Siraj in the fourth over after scoring 12 runs. This in turn became yet another issue for the Gujarat Titans as the two openers were sent packing at the very beginning of their innings.
Heroics from Kohli leads Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their Second IPL Title
Finally it was Royal Challengers Bengaluru who took home the title. Gujarat Titans never really managed to gain any momentum and they fell short at the end of the innings with 155/8 after 20 overs with Washington Sundar contributing useful fifty runs that ended up pushing GT towards a score that could win them the match.
Chasing a score of 156 Royal Challengers Bengaluru began very well with an impressive 32 off 16 from Venkatesh Iyer giving them good momentum.
From there it was Virat Kohli who took charge of the chase and finished the match with a brilliant unbeaten 75 which included his quickest fifty in the IPL coming in just 25 deliveries and Tim David also chipped in with 24.
Chasing it down quite comfortably with five wickets remaining Royal Challengers Bengaluru lifted their second ever IPL title with Kohli named as the Man of the Match for his fantastic effort that brought home yet another championship for the franchise.