Image: Virat Kohli and RCB beat the opponents and took their title as the winner of IPL 2025 / © Siasat.com
In an electrifying climax to the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally ended their 18-year wait for a trophy, defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) by a thrilling six runs in the final on June 3 at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. The match, a rollercoaster of emotions for fans of both teams, saw RCB post 190/9 and defend it with disciplined bowling, led by Krunal Pandya’s match-defining 2/17 and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s clutch death bowling. For PBKS, Shashank Singh’s valiant 61* off 30 balls wasn’t enough to chase down the target, finishing at 184/7.
RCB, led by new captain Rajat Patidar, won the toss and elected to bat on a fresh pitch with a mix of red and black soil, known to favour high scores but offering some assistance to slower deliveries. The pitch report by Michael Clarke suggested a “batting feast,” but PBKS’s seamers, particularly Kyle Jamieson (3/48) and Arshdeep Singh (3/40), exploited the surface’s variable bounce to keep RCB in check.
Phil Salt provided a fiery start, smashing 16 off 9 balls, including a six and two fours off Arshdeep’s first over. However, Jamieson dismissed him in the second over, with Shreyas Iyer taking a stunning catch running backwards. Mayank Agarwal (24 off 18) and Virat Kohli steadied the ship, guiding RCB to 55/1 in the powerplay. Agarwal fell to Yuzvendra Chahal (1/37), caught by Arshdeep at deep backward square, marking the seventh time Chahal dismissed him in the IPL.
Kohli, anchoring the innings, scored 43 off 35 balls but struggled to accelerate, facing criticism for a strike rate of 122.85. His cautious approach, reminiscent of his 2024 T20 World Cup final knock, drew mixed reactions, with fans like Arun commenting, “Kohli is holding RCB back here!” Rajat Patidar (26 off 16) injected momentum with two sixes, but Jamieson trapped him lbw with a searing yorker. Liam Livingstone (25 off 15) and Jitesh Sharma (24 off 10) provided late fireworks, with Jitesh’s innovative scoops yielding two sixes in Jamieson’s 17th over, which cost 23 runs.
The death overs (16-20) saw RCB score 45/5, but PBKS clawed back with Arshdeep’s sensational final over, claiming three wickets (Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar) for just three runs. Azmatullah Omarzai (1/35) and Vijaykumar Vyshak (1/30) also impressed, restricting RCB to 190/9. Experts like Matthew Hayden felt RCB were “30 runs short”, while Clarke believed anything under 200 was chaseable, setting the stage for a tense second inning.
Chasing 191, PBKS needed a strong powerplay, and openers Priyansh Arya (24 off 19) and Prabhsimran Singh (26 off 22, Impact Player for Chahal) delivered, scoring 52/1 in six overs, nearly matching RCB’s 55/1. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s first over went for 13, including a six by Prabhsimran over deep third, while Yash Dayal leaked 10 in his second. However, Josh Hazlewood (1/54) struck in the fifth over, with Salt’s acrobatic catch dismissing Arya, igniting RCB’s hopes.
Josh Inglis (39 off 23) kept PBKS in the hunt, smashing four sixes, including two off Suyash Sharma’s first over, which cost 15 runs. Krunal Pandya, introduced in the seventh over, turned the game with a miserly 4-0-17-2. His first wicket, Prabhsimran, came in the eighth over, caught by Bhuvneshwar after a top-edged hoick. Krunal’s tight lines and subtle variations stifled PBKS, reducing them to 74/2 after nine overs, with the required run rate climbing to 10.63.
The game’s pivotal moment came in the ninth over when Romario Shepherd (1/30) dismissed PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer for just 1, caught by Jitesh off a lazy cut. Iyer’s poor record against Shepherd (0 runs off 3 balls, dismissed twice) proved costly, leaving PBKS at 81/3. Inglis fell to Krunal in the 12th over, caught by Livingstone at long-on, as PBKS slumped to 101/4, needing 90 off 42 balls.
Nehal Wadhera (15 off 18) struggled to rotate the strike, facing 12 dots, while Shashank Singh (61* off 30) tried to keep PBKS alive. Suyash Sharma (0/19 in 2 overs) bowled tightly, conceding just five runs in the 14th over, pushing the required rate to 14.16. Shepherd’s 15th over yielded 13, including a six by Wadhera, but Hazlewood’s 16th over went for 17, with Shashank’s two sixes—one a fine pull and another a straight drive—reviving PBKS’s hopes at 136/4.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 17th over was a masterclass, dismissing Wadhera and Marcus Stoinis (6 off 2) while conceding just eight runs. Stoinis’s six off his first ball raised expectations, but he fell next ball, caught at short third. Yash Dayal (1/18) removed Omarzai (1 off 2) in the 18th over, leaving PBKS at 149/7, needing 42 off 12. Shashank’s six off Bhuvneshwar in the 19th over kept the fight alive, but Bhuvneshwar’s pinpoint yorkers ensured only 13 runs came off it, leaving 29 needed in the final over.
Hazlewood, defending 29, started with two dots, effectively sealing the game. Shashank’s late blitz — three sixes and a four in the last four balls — took him to an unbeaten 61, but PBKS fell short at 184/7. The crowd erupted, with Kohli, AB de Villiers, and RCB fans celebrating wildly, chanting “Ee Sala Cup Namde” (This year, the cup is ours).
With the match being tight, Bhuvneshwar Kumar came up and his over became the TCNI’s Magic Moment of the Game as it swung the IPL 2025 final firmly in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) favour. Defending 191 against Punjab Kings (PBKS), RCB needed a breakthrough in the 17th over, with PBKS at 144/6, needing 47 runs off 18 balls. Bhuvneshwar, with his ice-cool precision, delivered a game-changing spell. The over started with a perfect yorker to Nehal Wadhera, who could only jam it back, scoring no run. On the second ball, Bhuvneshwar bowled a wide, full delivery at 134 kph, and Wadhera, struggling at 15 off 18, miscued a lofted drive, caught by a pumped-up Krunal Pandya at deep cover.
The crowd roared as Wadhera’s sluggish knock ended. Marcus Stoinis, PBKS’s last hope, smashed a first-ball six, effortlessly clearing wide long-off with a drive off a wide full ball. But Bhuvneshwar bounced back, nailing a wide yorker next ball, which Stoinis edged to Yash Dayal at short third for a golden duck. Two wickets in three balls turned the tide. Shashank Singh and Azmatullah Omarzai managed singles off the last two balls, but the over yielded just eight runs while claiming two crucial scalps. Bhuvneshwar’s 2/25 in three overs, with his death-over mastery (9.57 career economy), left PBKS needing 15.66 runs per over, sealing RCB’s historic six-run victory.
In the Big Finals, winning the TCNI’s Hero of the Day award, Yash Dayal delivered a stellar performance that bolstered Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) historic six-run victory over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL 2025 final. Defending 191, RCB needed tight bowling, and Dayal’s disciplined spell of 3-0-18-1 proved crucial in choking PBKS’s chase, finishing at 184/7. Dayal, introduced early, set the tone with his economical bowling, conceding just 18 runs in three overs at an economy of 6.00, the best among RCB’s pacers.
His 10 dot balls stifled PBKS’s aggressive batters, including Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, who managed only 50/1 in the powerplay against him. Dayal’s ability to hit hard lengths and vary his pace kept the pressure on, even as Josh Inglis smashed boundaries elsewhere. The game’s defining moment came in the 18th over, with PBKS needing 46 off 18. Dayal dismissed the dangerous Azmatullah Omarzai for 1, caught by substitute Manoj Bhandage, leaving PBKS at 145/7. His over yielded just four runs, pushing the required rate to 14.50 and tilting the game decisively toward RCB.