Ending an 18-year-long wait, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally clinched their first-ever IPL title, defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs in an edge of the seat thriller final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Just when Punjab Kings looked to be in the driver's seat at 72/1, Royal Challengers Bangaluru fought back to grab the steering wheel and never let go in the IPL 2025 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Despite a valiant unbeaten 61 off 30 balls from Shashank Singh, PBKS fell short, finishing at 184/7 in the chase of 191.
RCB’s bowlers turned the game on its head, sealing a historic win and finally bringing home the coveted IPL trophy.
Krunal Pandya had Prabhsimran Singh caught at cover off Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 26. Then, in the next over, Romario Shepherd got the big wicket of Shreyas Iyer who fell for just one, getting a faint edge to wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma.
Krunal then struck again, removing the dangerous Josh Inglis who holed out to Liam Livingstone on the long-on boundary for 39 off 23 balls, leaving PBKS at 98/4 in the 13th over.
A partnership of 38 between Shashank Singh and Nehal Wadhera briefly revived PBKS before the latter fell for a laboured 15 off 18 balls, caught by Krunal off Bhuvneshwar at cover.
Marcus Stoinis came in and smashed a six over long-off first ball. But off the very next delivery, he gave Yash Dayal at short third-man a straightforward catch to leave PBKS in dire straits at 142/6 in the 17th over.
Earlier, a brilliant catch by Phil Salt gave RCB the much-needed breakthrough as they defended a target of 191 against Punjab Kings.
After PBKS had raced off the blocks to 43/0, Salt held Priyansh Arya on the boundary off Josh Hazlewood, tossed the ball up as he overshot the line and nonchalantly stepped back in to complete the catch.
In the first half of the game, RCB was restricted to 190/9 after a brilliant final over by Arshdeep Singh in which he grabbed three wickets and gave away just three runs.
Kyle Jamieson had given PBKS the perfect start by removing RCB opener Phil Salt for 16 in just the second over. But the early blow didn’t rattle RCB for long as Virat Kohli and Mayank Agarwal began to rebuild steadily.
Just as Agarwal looked to settle in, Yuzvendra Chahal derailed the momentum, dismissing him for 24.
Kohli and skipper Rajat Patidar then added 40 for the third wicket. Patidar looked to step on the gas, hitting Jamieson for a six but the New Zealander had the last laugh, trapping him leg before for 26, leaving RCB at 96/3.
Liam Livingstone then joined Kohli and the duo took 14 off Chahal's last over.
Kohli looked on course for another fifty but a brilliant return catch by Azmatullah Omarzai saw him return to the dugout for 43 as RCB slumped to 131/4 in the 15th over.
After Kohli's dismissal, Jitesh Sharma offered RCB a flicker of hope with a quickfire cameo, aided by Livingstone. Jamieson was smashed for 23 in the 17th over but also managed to remove Livingstone with a sharp delivery that rapped his pads, trapping him LBW.
Then Vijaykumar Vyshak struck a crucial blow in the 18th over. Though RCB’s DRS saved Sharma once, Vyshak had the final say. With the very next ball, he sent Sharma back to the dugout for a breezy 24 off 10 balls, further dampening RCB's hopes of crossing the 200 mark.
Earlier, PBKS won the toss and chose to bowl first against RCB.
“Not just another game. It’s a big final. Going to be a tremendous feeling,” said PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer.
RCB captain Rajat Patidar said that he too wanted to bowl first.
“Just another game for us, we will try give our best,” he said.
This was a rematch of the first Qualifier, where RCB outplayed PBKS with a dominant eight-wicket win to book their spot in the final. PBKS bounced back by defeating five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in Qualifier 2, earning another shot at RCB as both teams aim for their first-ever IPL trophy.
RCB were playing their fourth final, still chasing their first title after falling short in all three previous attempts. PBKS, on the other hand, were in their first final since 2014 and are also hoping to lift the trophy for the first time.
The weather had been unpredictable, with light drizzle coming and going through the afternoon.
In their previous clash, PBKS' batting lineup fell apart against RCB’s bowling. But in Qualifier 2, just when the match looked like it was slipping away, captain Shreyas Iyer turned the tide with a blazing unbeaten 87 off 41 balls, leading the Kings to the final.
Playing XI
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood
Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kyle Jamieson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Impact subs:
RCB: Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Tim Seifert, Swapnil Singh, Suyash Sharma
PBKS: Prabhsimran Singh, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlet, Harpreet Brar