IPL Final, RCB vs PBKS | 'Ee saala cup namde' becomes reality as Bengaluru end 18-year wait for trophy
Royal Challengers Bengaluru thwarted Punjab Kings in the 2025 IPL Final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday to lift their first ever silverware. The hosts managed to defend 190 on the back of Krunal Pandya's three scalps, ending up on the winning side by six runs.
Asked to bat first on what looked like a batting haven, Phil Salt got Royal Challengers Bengaluru off to a flying start with a six and a four in the first over itself. However, the assault was short-lived as Kyle Jamieson had him hole out for 16, bringing Mayank Agarwal to the crease. Alongwith Virat Kohli, the veteran stitched together a relatively sedate stand of 38 to take RCB through to the end of the powerplay without any further damage, but departed just two balls later to hand Yuzvendra Chahal his first breakthrough of the summit clash. Rajat Patidar tried to up the tempo with a couple of big hits in a rapid cameo of 26 from 16 but as was the case with the departed men, the skipper struck out just when he was threatening to turn the game on its head. The scalp brought about a brief lull in scoring with 14 runs in the next two, which eventually culminated in Kohli departing for a 35-ball 43 to leave RCB at 132/4 after 15. What his experienced compatriot failed to manage, Jitesh Sharma achieved as he walked out and hit two fours against Arshdeep before dispatching Jamieson for two maximums in a 23-run 17th over. Yet, once the wicket-keeper and Livingstone (25 off 15) fell in quick sucession, PBKS put the squeeze and conceded just 22 runs in the final three overs to keep RCB to 190.
In response, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsiman Singh began the chase with typical aplomb, the duo accumulating 23 within the first two overs. Patidar responded by introducing Josh Hazlewood into the attack and the Aussie executed his plans to a T, marking a three-over phase where PBKS just scored 20 and saw Prabhsimran be dropped, before the quick got rid of Priyansh for a breezy 24. Nevertheless, Josh Inglis and Prabh took the team through to 52/1 at the end of the powerplay but the scoring rates dipped, forcing the latter to succumb to Krunal Pandya for 26 off 22. Romario Shepherd made it a double whammy by getting rid of captain Shreyas Iyer the very next over and the required rate soared to nearly 12 when eight overs were remaining. Inglis had no option but to take on the lethal Pandya, and an excellent catch from Livingstone at the boundary meant his 23-ball 39 was likely to go in vain. Just eight runs in the two overs thereafter made matters worse and even though some hopes were sparked with a 17-run 16th over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's scalps of Nehal Wadhera and Marcus Stoinis in the space of three balls practically ended proceedings. Nevertheless, Shashank Singh kept battling till the end and brought up a 29-ball half-century in a last over onslaught, yet it meant little as the RCB players wheeled away in celebration towards a crying Kohli.
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