Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Punjab Kings by six runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. This was the first time that Bengaluru clinched the championship in league's history, wrapping up the 18-year-long wait.
Put in to bat first, RCB endured a topsy-turvy innings upfront. Virat Kohli top-scored with 43 runs, but they came at a steady pace since he consumed 35 deliveries. Rajat Patidar (26), Liam Livingstone (25), Jitesh Sharma (24), and Mayank Agarwal (24) chipped in with handy contributions.
However, none of them were able to convert their starts into massive scores, resulting in PBKS striking timely dismissals. Arshdeep Singh and Kyle Jamieson starred with three-wicket hauls each, whereas Azmatullah Omarzai, Vijaykumar Vyshak, and Yuzvendra Chahal notched in a wicket too each.
Phil Salt had provided Bengaluru a solid start, bringing a couple of boundaries under his belt to expedite to 16 off nine, before getting outfoxed through a slower delivery by Jamieson. Arshdeep picked all three scalps in the final over of the innings.
PBKS were handed a major blow through the dismissal of skipper Shreyas Iyer for a partly score of one in the 10th over. Romario Shepherd got the better of Iyer with a perfectly positioned length delivery, which Iyer nicked behind the stumps to the gloves of wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma.
Krunal Pandya was the star of the show for RCB, conceding merely 17 runs in four overs at the expense of two wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, too, bagged the key wickets of Nehal Wadhera and Marcus Stoinis in his all-important second spell. Pandya was crafty in his bowling acumen, sending Prabhsimran Singh and Josh Inglis back into the hut though both of them had gotten decent starts to their innings.
Rishi Sunak cheers for RCB
Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was present at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday with his wife Akshata Murty to cheer for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL final against Punjab Kings. Sunak has been an avid supporter of RCB. Sunak took to X and posted a selfie with his wife and captioned the post, "Let's go @RCBTweets." He was seated near Jay Shah, chairman of the International Cricket Council.
Before the start of the game, the Ex-UK Prime Minister had backed RCB to end their 18-year wait for an IPL trophy.
"I'll give you a clue - Ee Sala Cup Namde! Hopefully, my pronunciation has improved since I proposed to Akshata 16 years ago in Kannada where, truth be told, I’m not entirely sure she knew what I was talking about!," said Sunak.
"But obviously, I’m married into a Bangalore family, so RCB is my team. We went to matches together a long time ago, and actually, Akshata's mother and father got me this shirt when we got married, which is great," he added.
"Now, in terms of my favourite players obviously, I’m a massive Virat Kohli fan. He's a total legend. One of my prized possessions is a signed bat of his that (India’s External Affairs) Minister S. Jaishankar brought me when I was Prime Minister, as a Diwali gift, to Downing Street - which is amazing," he said. Sunak also spoke about the return of cricket to the Olympics after a century-long hiatus. Notably, cricket has been added to the list of competitions of the Los Angeles Games 2028, a first for the sport since 1900.
"It's a sign of the influence India now has in the 21st century. India’s passions, India’s tastes - they now have a global impact. Why is cricket back in the Olympics for the first time in 100 years? Because of India," said Sunak.
