Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 1 (ANI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) speedster Josh Hazlewood praised his team's depth, bowling attack, and culture after RCB clinched back-to-back Indian Premier League (IPL) titles with a five-wicket win over Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 2026 final in Ahmedabad.

Reflecting on maintaining a perfect record in T20 finals, Hazlewood said during the post-match interview, 'That's right up there. I think obviously a little bit more relaxed within the group this year. We sort of got the monkey off the back last year in terms of a long wait for that first win. But the group just felt calm and composed throughout the whole tournament. Someone stepped up when they needed to be. We had, again, like 10 Man of the Match awards. Amazing depth in the squad. Anyone who came in did a great job, and the bowling group is pretty special.'

On the impact of the bowling unit and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he added, 'I can't remember a game where he went for over 35 runs. In this day and age, it's unbelievable. He got wickets up front in nearly every game we played and just took the heat off the rest of us. We could relax, and we were bowling at numbers four and five in the power play. So it's pretty nice.'

Hazlewood also highlighted the role of the franchise and support staff in creating a positive environment. 'The franchise has been put together beautifully--not just the players, but the support staff as well. It's a nice, relaxed atmosphere to play your best cricket and perform. Everyone seems to have a good time in this group. Winning helps, but it just feels like the team's quite a tight unit and we're playing for someone else other than ourselves all the time. It's a nice feeling.'

On the prospect of a three-peat, Hazlewood confidently said, 'Yeah, I can't see why not. Yeah, absolutely.'

Coming to the IPL 2026 final, Put to bat first by RCB, GT scored just 155/8 in 20 overs, with Washington Sundar (50* in 37 balls, with five fours) and Nishant Sindhu (20 in 18 balls, with three fours) being the only ones to cross the 20-run mark. Rasikh Dar Salam (3/27), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/29) and Josh Hazlewood (2/37) took wickets regularly.

RCB started well with a 62-run stand between Venkatesh Iyer (32 in 16 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Virat Kohli. GT showed some fight, reducing RCB to 132/5 at one point, but Virat (75* in 42 balls, with nine fours and three sixes) guided RCB to a win with two overs left.

This is RCB's second IPL title win and overall their fourth Indian franchise cricket trophy, including two Women's Premier League (WPL) titles. (ANI)