Royal Challengers Bangalore End 17-Year Wait, Win First-Ever IPL Title

 


Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have finally ended their 17-year-long wait and clinched their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title. After years of heartbreaks, criticism, and countless memes, RCB emerged victorious in a thrilling IPL 2025 final, defeating Punjab Kings by 6 runs. Under the captaincy of Rajat Patidar, the team successfully defended a target of 190 runs, thanks to brilliant bowling spells from Krunal Pandya, Yash Dayal, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. With this victory, RCB are now the champions of IPL 2025, and legendary player Virat Kohli — who has been part of the franchise since the inaugural season — has finally become an IPL champion.

The final was played at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday, June 3. All eyes were on Virat Kohli — fans eagerly hoping he would finally have "IPL Champion" written next to his name. The buzz before the season revolved around destiny favoring Kohli in the 18th IPL season, especially since he wears jersey number 18. Many fans even drew symbolic parallels with the 18-day-long Mahabharata war. And indeed, fate seemed to be on RCB's side this time.

However, before the fairytale ending, Kohli himself appeared to be the villain of the final. After losing the toss, RCB batted first but had a shaky start. Phil Salt hit a few big shots before getting out, followed by short but brisk contributions from Mayank Agarwal (24), skipper Rajat Patidar (26), and Liam Livingstone. Meanwhile, Kohli struggled to find his rhythm. His inability to accelerate put pressure on the team, and he eventually fell for 43 off 35 balls, raising concerns about RCB’s total.

In the final overs, Jitesh Sharma gave RCB a crucial push, smashing 24 runs off just 10 balls, while out-of-form Livingstone added a quick 25. For Punjab, Kyle Jamieson and Arshdeep Singh took 3 wickets each and helped restrict RCB to 190.

Krunal Pandya Sparked the Comeback

Punjab Kings had a fiery start in the first few overs of their chase, but Krunal Pandya (2/17) turned the tide when he was brought into the attack. He picked up the first breakthrough and slowed down the scoring rate. The biggest turning point came in the 10th over when Romario Shepherd dismissed Shreyas Iyer for just 1 run. This ignited hopes of an RCB comeback.

In the 13th over, Pandya struck again, removing Josh Inglis (39), who was aggressively pushing the score. Punjab still had capable hitters like Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, and Marcus Stoinis, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar sealed the deal in the 17th over, dismissing both Wadhera and Stoinis.

With 29 runs needed in the final over, Shashank Singh (60*), who had already notched a quickfire fifty, tried his best with 3 sixes and a four, but Punjab could only manage 184. Once again, Punjab fell short at the final hurdle, while RCB finally got their hands on the coveted trophy — a moment fans and especially Virat Kohli had been dreaming of for years.


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