CCL 2026: Karnataka Bulldozers are champions yet again; trounce Bengal Tigers

The Bengal Tigers and Karnataka Bulldozers were on familiar terrain when they met for the final of Season 12 of the Celebrity Cricket League. They’d been there done that a couple of years ago, with the Tigers walking away with the trophy. This time was different, though. Kiccha Sudeep’s side was all charged up and determined not to have fans back home complain that they tend to choke in crucial moments of the tournament, considering that they won only twice in their earlier 7 final appearances.

Playing their 8th final, the Karnataka Bulldozers lifted the CCL trophy 12 years since their last victory, with Rajeev Hanu doing the bulk of the work as they hurriedly got to the asking total of 130.

Were Bengal Tigers wrong in batting first? 

Winning the toss, Bengal Tigers skipper Jisshu Sengupta decided to bat first and set a target, but little did he know that this would be the day that the Karnataka Bulldozers bowlers would bowl such a strict line and length, that his team barely had any wiggle room. They got rid of opener Uday and danger man Jammy Banerjee early. Joy persisted at the other end, even as the Tiger’s continued to lose wickets at the other end.

By the 16th over, the Tigers were already 7 wickets down and not even 100 on the scoreboard. Rahul Mazumdar, who got the Tigers to the final only a day ago was still around, but needed to adopt a more casual approach. When he eventually decided to let lose, his plan to get a boundary landed in the safe hands of Manjunath. The score 99-8. Indrashish tried to get some more runs on the board, but that didn’t last long. The Tigers were bundled out for 129 in their 20 overs.

Also read: CCL 2026 semi-final 2: J Karthik ensures Karnataka Bulldozers make it to yet another final 

Karnataka Bulldozers make heavy weather of target

130 was never going to be a total too difficult for a formidable side like the Bulldozers. Sudeep had made a change in the batting order, so it was Nirup Bhandari who came out with Rajeev Hanu, and he departed early on. Darling Krishna joined Rajeev in the middle and that is when the latter decided he was going to make light work of the total. No matter the line and length the Tigers bowled, Rajeev connected and quite well too. Adding to the Tigers’ misery was that they could not get their fielding right.

A glimmer of hope came in the 9th over, when they managed to get the big wicket of Rajeev (69 of 33 balls). Karan, who replaced him also departed soon enough and there was a slow down in the middle. Krishna was unusually quiet, managing only 7 of the 20 deliveries he faced. The score 100 for the loss of 4. J Karthik, the man of the match in the semi-final and Manjunath adopted the most sensible approach then. Keep the score board ticking, even if that means a lot rotation of strike. And then, as they got closer and closer to that target, they started to find the boundary too, especially Manjunath. 

CCL 2026 was streamed live on JioHotstar (via OTTplay Premium also). Missed the finale? No worries, the highlights will be on Celebrity Cricket League's official YouTube page. 

CCL FAQs

Q. Where to watch CCL2026?

A. Season 12 of the Celebrity Cricket League began on January 16, 2026 and went on till February 1. Eight teams were in the fray, with the winner getting a prize of Rs 50L. The matches were live streamed on JioHotstar (available via OTTplay Premium also). 

Q. Which team won CCL2025?

A. Punjab De Sher won CCL2025, but the team has already been knocked out of CCL2026, having lost two of its three group stage matches.