RCB IPL 2025 Winner: Royal Challengers Bengaluru are IPL champions. Virat Kohli is an IPL champion.
An 18-year-old wait has finally come to end as RCB outclassed Punjab Kings in a pulsating title clash of IPL 2025 held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Chasing what at one stage appeared to be a below-par total 191, PBKS were undone by another superb bowling display from RCB as they finished at 184/7 in 20 overs.
RCB won the final by six runs and as they were inching towards clinching their maiden silverware, Kohli broke down into tears. It was an indication of how much he has longed for this title year after year. Before tonight, he had come close to winning the title thrice but on those occasions, he was left heartbroken. Not on Tuesday though.
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PBKS made a solid start to their chase with the opening pair of Priyansh Arya (24) and Prabhsimran Singh (26) adding 43 runs in five overs. However, RCB continued to land blows at vital moments even as Krunal Pandya kept them quiet at one end, delivering a superb four-over spell in which he allowed just 17 runs and picked up two important scalps of Prabhsimran and Josh Inglis (39).
The contest was poised nicely when Prabhsimran and Inglis were batting together. Once the partnership was broken, RCB began tightening the noose.
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The body blow to PBKS’ hopes though came when Romario Shepherd had the in-form captain Shreyas Iyer caught-behind for 1. And from thereon, RCB became the favourites.
Shashank Singh struck an unbeaten 61 but it wasn’t going to be enough as he watched RCB squad break into wild celebrations.
This was after RCB huffed and puffed their way to 190/9 in the Indian Premier League final against Punjab Kings, failing to exert significant scoreboard pressure on a favourable surface on Tuesday.
While RCB adopted a somewhat conservative approach in the crucial final, luck also deserted the four-time finalists in their pursuit of a maiden trophy, as each of their batsmen was dismissed after making a start.
The anticipated fireworks failed to materialise on the night of the big final. Virat Kohli (43), attempting to anchor the innings as he has done previously, was dismissed after a laborious effort.
Kohli managed only three fours – two of which came after the ninth over – scoring his 43 runs off 35 balls at a strike rate of 122.85.
RCB’s scoring rate slowed after the powerplay, in which they scored 55/1. Their batsmen focused on rotating the strike rather than accelerating the scoring rate, accumulating only 42 runs between overs 6-11.
Phil Salt (16) struck a six and a four in the first over but in the next, he mistimed a shot which looped high in the air. Punjab skipper Shreyas Iyer, positioned at mid-on, moved back more than ten paces to take a good catch off Kyle Jamieson (3/48), securing the first breakthrough.
Salt’s early dismissal significantly impacted the progression of RCB’s innings. Subsequent batsmen, including Mayank Agarwal (24), Rajat Patidar (26), and Liam Livingstone (25), failed to capitalise on their starts.
The tall Jamieson had a considerable impact, not only finding the right lengths and variations to contain the batsmen but also dismissing three key players to further hinder RCB.
In the second over, after Salt had struck him for a four over mid-on, Jamieson induced the RCB opener to sky a catch to Iyer. In the 11th over, after Rajat Patidar had hit him for a six over mid-off, Jamieson bowled a superb slow yorker that trapped the batsman leg before wicket.
Jamieson’s figures were slightly tarnished in the 17th over when Jitesh Sharma (24 off 10 balls, 2x4s, 2x6s) smashed two sixes and Livingstone added another, yielding 23 runs from the over. However, Jamieson finished strongly, trapping Livingstone leg before wicket with a full toss.
Despite conceding 37 runs in his first three overs, India star Arshdeep Singh rebounded impressively in the final over of the innings, claiming three wickets.
Arshdeep dismissed Krunal Pandya (4), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1), and Romario Shepherd (17), who had threatened to propel the score past 200 with a six and a four.
