It had been about 20 minutes or so since Royal Challengers Bengaluru officially became the 2025 Indian Premier League champions. Preparations were underway at the Narendra Modi Stadium for the post-final presentation while RCB players continued to celebrate; Punjab Kings, on the other hand, were gathered on one side, trying to make sense of what had happened.
The trophy was out on the table, getting ready to have a new name at the bottom. Watching it with tears of joy was every RCB player, especially Virat Kohli. They had waited 18 years for this moment, they did not mind waiting another 20 minutes to get their hands on it. Usually, when this happens, the camera is zoomed in on the trophy as the captain of the winning franchise comes on and signs the lens with his teammates in the background. Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni did so two years ago at the same venue.
Here, however, it was not about Rajat Patidar, the captain who led them to the title. But about one man, who in his own words had given his "youth, prime and experience" to this franchise and its loyal fanbase — Virat Kohli. Their former captain signed his name while grinning ear-to-ear with tears in his eyes.
In the 18th year of the IPL, No 18 won his first IPL trophy. Many might call it destiny, or fate, and they would have good reason. From the beginning of the season, a lot of things have gone their way, including the eight-day suspension due to India-Pakistan conflicts, which allowed Patidar and Josh Hazlewood, two of their star players, to recover from injury and be available for the playoffs. Punjab, on the other hand, had lost a crucial player in Marco Jansen because of it.
That is just the bit of luck needed for a team to win this trophy. CSK and Mumbai Indians have five each, Kolkata Knight Riders have three, which might make one feel it is not as hard as it was for RCB. But that is not the case. "...it's not an easy tournament to win — it is as simple as that — and you have to think long and hard about that. It is not easy to win this thing," PBKS head coach Ricky Ponting said after the loss in the final.
Ask Kohli and he will tell you. He had been there in three finals before Tuesday, several playoffs and innumerable close finishes to know what this meant. He had AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle for the better part of a decade and they flourished as a batting unit with no trophy to show for. Which is why, both their former star players — including the injured Devdutt Padikkal — were there to celebrate with the team after the final.
Shortly after the game got over, De Villiers pulled off his blazer and put on the RCB jersey. He had already run onto the field to hug his best friend — Kohli, who had become a kid experiencing joy for the first time in life. It was evident when he ran around and jumped on his former coach and friend, Ravi Shastri, and the way he was letting it all out sitting in front of the champions podium.
From Patidar to Jitesh Sharma, every single player wanted him to have it. Every celebration quote and post on social media was about Kohli. Multiple cities, and not just Bengaluru, had come to a standstill to celebrate this moment, to celebrate their hero achieving his lifelong dream. Which is why, just as Patidar received the trophy, he went straight to the former captain and handed it over; Kohli lifted it aloft in sync with a roar from about 50,000-plus fans who had stayed back for this moment.
To get to this point, RCB needed their share of luck, but that was not all of it. There is an entire bunch of support staff who have worked tirelessly to put together a squad, a bowling attack that won them the tournament. In many ways, it was not just about tactics but a complete change in philosophy led by Director of Cricket Mo Bobat and head coach Andy Flower — who is known for winning T20 trophies.
For example, their analyst, Freddie Wilde, in the 2019-released book In Cricket 2.0: Inside the T20 Revolution, which he co-authored with Tim Wigmore, had written a chapter titled Why CSK win and RCB lose. Among the various reasons alluded to were — overspending on star batters, not building a squad for their home venue and poor management.
The duo wrote: "It affirmed that simply buying the world's very best players would not guarantee success. In T20, strategy, man-management and nuance mattered more than even the most star-studded team."
It all changed ahead of the mega auction last year. They had brought on Dinesh Karthik as mentor, and Wilde has been there since 2023, and the other staff, including Malolan Rangarajan and Omkar Salvi. Led by Bobat, they all came together to ensure not too much money was spent on big batting stars and they had enough to sign on a solid bowling unit.
"... the importance of a good bowling attack was acknowledged absolutely adamantly right at the start, before the auction, and we worked towards that. And we got guys like Bhuvi, Krunal, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, all on that second day. So that was really important. I think Suyash Sharma has done really well for us, our little leg spinner. I thought he's handled himself really well through the season, and come on. But Krunal is a big match player, and a great competitor, and that spell today, I think, was the major difference between the teams,” Flower explained with the trophy next to him.
Earlier in the night, Kohli echoed the thoughts as well.
"The batters were fabulous, and they played their part. However, the bowlers won the tournament. I haven't seen such combeacks in RCB history. Whenever we were on the back foot, the bowlers brought us back into the game," he had said.
They did not just bring them back in the game, but ended the 18-year-long wait to give Kohli and the fans the IPL trophy.
It has been a little over an hour since the final ball was bowled. The presentation and celebrations are over on the field, but not in the RCB dressing room. Kohli walked into it, shoulder-by-shoulder, with De Villiers.
He talked about the "heartbreak corner" where he sat and cried year after year, and how that is not the case anymore; lauded Patidar, who came in as an injury replacement in 2022 and won the trophy as captain, before gifting a bat to him. And then said perhaps the thing that mattered the most.
"I think I am going to get the real side of it when we get to Bengaluru on Thursday and celebrate it with the city and the fans who have stood with us through thick and thin," he said in a video shared by the franchise.
