RCB Left Their Maiden IPL Title, End 17-Year-Long Wait

 

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by a slim margin of six runs in an enthralling final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to win their maiden Indian Premier League 2025 championship.

Match Summary

Arsheep and Jamieson 3-3 wickets, but Liam, Jitesh, and Romario cameo innings,  RCB scored 190

PBKS decided to take advantage of the early position by choosing to field first after winning the toss. With opener Phil Salt out in the second over, RCB's innings got off to a shaky start.

With a cool 43 off 35 balls, Virat Kohli led the innings, with Mayank Agarwal and Rajat Patidar scoring 24 and 26 runs, respectively. 

RCB reached a competitive total of 190/9 thanks to late-order heroics from Liam Livingstone (25), Jitesh Sharma (24), and Romario Shepherd (17 off 9). The two best bowlers for PBKS were Arshdeep Singh and Kyle Jamieson, who both took three wickets.

Shashank Singh’s 61-run innings, but Kunal and Bhuvneshwar's final over, PBKS just short by 22 runs

PBKS suffered early setbacks while chasing 191, losing important wickets regularly. But RCB's disciplined bowling, particularly that of Krunal Pandya (2/17) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/38), kept the pressure on after Shashank Singh's undefeated 61 off 30 balls revived hopes. With a final over score of just 22, PBKS ended their innings at 184/7 after needing 29 runs.

A Historical Win

With this victory, RCB's 18-year IPL title chase came to an end. They had previously placed second in 2009, 2011, and 2016. The win was significant to Virat Kohli, who has been with the team since the beginning and represents a major turning point in his remarkable career. Kohli was emotional after the game, dedicated the victory to his old teammate AB de Villiers, and rejoiced with the famous song "Ee Sala Cup Namdu."