After a 18-years of wait, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ended their title drought under Rajat Patidar’s captaincy in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 final against Punjab Kings (PBKS).
Losing the toss, RCB’s batting line-up managed to post 190 in 20 overs for a loss of 9 wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. At one stage, Virat Kohli’s anchoring knock of 35-ball-43-runs (including three fours) was trolled by a certain set of fans as it wasn’t enough to steer his team to a big total.
However, the short and swift cameos from the middle-order batters kept the scoreboard ticking.
Kudos to RCB’s bowling department for restricting PBKS to 184/7 in 20 overs, thereby securing a thrilling 6-run victory. Despite Shashank Singh’s brilliant 61-run knock, Punjab fell short by a slight margin to chase the 191-run target.
Amidst this emotional moment, let’s take a look at the Bengaluru-based franchise’s top six game-changing strategies in the IPL 2025 final that helped them shed the chokers tag and clinch their maiden trophy.
1. Explosive Knocks of RCB Batters:
Following the instant dismissals of Phil Salt and Mayank Agarwal, these four batters of RCB accelerated the innings by playing a fiery knock:
- Rajat Patidar: 26 runs from 16 balls (including 1 four and 2 sixes) at a strike rate of 162.50.
- Liam Livingstone: 25 runs from 15 balls (including 2 sixes) at a strike rate of 166.67.
- Jitesh Sharma: 24 runs from 10 balls (including 2 fours and 2 sixes) at a strike rate of 240.00.
- Romario Shepherd: 17 runs from 9 balls (including 1 four and 1 six) at a strike rate of 188.89.
As a result, these four power-hitters helped RCB accumulate a valuable 92 runs out of 50 balls.
2. Josh Hazlewood Breaking the Opening Partnership of PBKS:
The 43-run opening partnership between Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh posed a huge threat to RCB’s maiden title hopes.
However, RCB’s key pacer Josh Hazlewood got a breakthrough after he dismissed Priyansh Arya, who scored 24 runs from 19 balls (including 6 fours). Although the Australian bowler conceded 54 runs in his 4-over spell, but bagged a crucial wicket of the PBKS’s most explosive batter.
3. Dismissing PBKS Captain Shreyas Iyer at an Early Stage:
PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer, who played a match-winning knock in a 200+ run chase against Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2, scored a single run out of 2 deliveries faced. Credit goes to the all-rounder Romario Shepherd’s short length delivery outside the off-stump that allowed the wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma to take a fine catch.
It is to be noted that Iyer’s stay at the crease could have proven dangerous in a run chase.
4. Rajat Patidar’s Brilliant Captaincy:
Despite PBKS batters conveniently accumulating runs through boundaries, the RCB captain Rajat Patidar maintained his composure under pressure. He strategically set field placements that allowed his fielders to take the crucial catches of Josh Inglis, Nehal Wadhera, and Marcus Stoinis. Otherwise, those shots could have been easily converted into fours and sixes for Punjab.
Also, Patidar ensured a smooth transition in bowling from speed to spin or vice versa throughout the match.
Therefore, RCB’s top bowling performances of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/38 in 4 overs) and Krunal Pandya (2/17 in 4 overs), along with Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, and Romario Shepherd taking a wicket each, contributed to a terrific effort.
5. Death Overs Bowling Mastery:
At the end of 15 overs, PBKS scored 119 for a loss of 4 wickets. With 72 runs required from the last five overs, the presence of reliable batters like Shashank Singh and Nehal Wadhera could have easily steered their team to the winning total.
But Patidar and his men tamed the explosive batting line-up of Punjab in the death overs. As a result, the Kings accumulated just 65 runs in the last 30 balls, losing another 3 wickets.
Here is how RCB controlled the final five overs (particularly the 17th and 18th over) to defend the 190-run target:
- 16th Over (Josh Hazlewood): 17 Runs and 0 Wickets.
- 17th Over (Bhuvneshwar Kumar): 8 Runs and 2 Wickets.
- 18th Over (Yash Dayal): 5 Runs and 1 Wicket.
- 19th Over (Bhuvneshwar Kumar): 13 Runs and 0 Wickets.
- 20th Over (Josh Hazlewood): 22 Runs and 0 Wickets.
6. Limiting Shashank Singh’s Fiery Knock to a Losing Cause:
RCB bowlers ensured the in-form batsman Shashank Singh was kept away from the strike in the 17th and 18th over of the match.
He ended up scoring an unbeaten 61 runs from 30 balls (including 3 fours and 6 sixes) in a losing cause for Punjab, despite scoring 22 runs off the last over.
Final Opinion
Overall, season number 18 has been fortunate for RCB and Kohli, whose iconic jersey number is 18 as well. Finally, the franchise succeeded in winning their maiden IPL trophy for Virat, who has dedicated all 18 seasons playing for one team since the inaugural season in 2008.
