On the eve of the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar said they would like to win the title for their talismanic batter and former captain Virat Kohli.
Kohli, who is the most successful batter in IPL history, has been with the franchise since the inaugural year in 2008, top-scoring for them in all these years and has taken them to the final thrice, but finishing on the losing side every time as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) remain titleless till now, gaining a reputation as the most unlucky and successless franchise in IPL.
On Tuesday, RCB finally shunned the unwanted tag, and they defeated the Punjab Kings by six runs in a well-fought-out final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. RCB eventually won their first title in 18 years of IPL existence.
I think it is really special for me and special for Virat Kohli and all the fans. Those who have supported me for years, so I think they all deserve it. You had a very consistent season, but when did it actually cross your mind that you have a chance of actually winning the trophy? At what stage of the IPL? I think you are talking about this game.
Kohli played a key role in the title triumph, scoring a 35-ball 43 and with vital contributions from Mayank Agarwal (24), Rajat Patidar (26), Liam Livingstone (25), and Jitesh Sharma, who blazed to a 10-ball 24, hitting two four and two sixes, RCB posted what looked like an under-par score of 190/9 in 20 overs playing on a slow pitch.
Arshdeep Singh claimed 3-40 -- all three wickets coming in the final over -- and Kyle Jamieson bagged 3-48 for Punjab Kings, using short-pitched deliveries to make things difficult for the batters.
Though the average score in IPL finals has been 171, RCB's 190 still felt chasable because the pitch was expected to ease and help the batters. However, that did not happen and to top it, RCB bowlers bowled super lines and cut down on the pace further to make shot-making further difficult.
Initially, things looked going PBKS's way as they ended the power-play period at 52/1, which was nearly equal to the 55/1 that RCB scored.
But the introduction of Krunal Pandya and Romario Shepherd changed the complexion of the game. Pandya claimed the wickets of Prabhsimran Singh (26) and Josh Inglis (39). Shepherd claimed the all-important wicket of Shreyas Iyer, the PBKS captain who had hammered an unbeaten 87 to guide his team to victory in Qualifier 2. Pandya finished with a figure of 4-0-17-2 to bag the Player of the Match award.
Shashank Singh waged a lone battle, battling cautiously from one end and then exploding into action in the last couple of overs to complete his half-century off 29 balls. He eventually remained undefeated on 61 off 30 balls, laced with three boundaries and five maximums. PBKS ended with 184/7 in 20 overs losing the match by six runs.
This win is as much for the fans as it is for the team. It's been 18 long years. I've given this team my youth, prime, and experience. I've tried to win it every season, gave it everything I have. To finally have it is an unbelievable feeling.
"Never thought this day would come, I was overcome with emotion after the last ball was bowled. Gave each and every ounce of my energy and it's an amazing feeling. What ABD has done for the franchise is tremendous, told him 'this win is as much yours as it is ours. I want you to celebrate with us," said Kohli.
PBKS finished runner-up for the second time but Shreyas Iyer expressed hope they would be able to build on this success to win the title next year.
Dejected, but the way we came up to the occasion... a lot of credit goes to the management and each and every player. Considering the last game we played here, I felt 200 was par personally. They bowled excellently. Krunal was phenomenal and used his experience, that was the turning point.
"Proud of each individual in our team, a lot of youngsters played their first season. Their fearlessness was phenomenal. Job is still half done, we have to win it next year. The way we turned up to every game was a positive, they've gained a lot of experience and we can build on that next year," Iyer added.
Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 190/9 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 43, Rajat Patidar 26, Jitesh Sharma 24; Arshdeep Singh 3-40, Kyle Jamieson 3-48) beat Punjab Kings (Josh Inglis 39, Shashank Singh 61 not out; Krunal Pandya 2-17, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-38).
