‘EE Saala Cup Namdu’ – ‘This year the cup is ours!’ – Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Finally, after an eighteen-year wait and after three unsuccessful finals, Virat Kohli and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has crossed the final hurdle by winning the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) Championship, beating table toppers (in the group stage), Punjab Kings in a thrilling final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

For Virat Kohli and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), it was a monkey off their shoulder, while for Punjab Kings, it was a heartbreak moment.

In Short – RCB VS PBKS

• RCB wins the 2025 IPL championship.
• Table toppers, Punjab Kings from the group stage failed to cross the line but delivered more than expected.

For Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the win was special for their No. 18 player and ex captain, Virat Kohli who looked very emotional after the win.

Punjab Kings made a new fanbase with their fresh brand of cricket, ably led by Shreyas Iyer who has now the unique record of leading three franchise team to  IPL finals.

The Finals win was also a tribute to the strong and loyal fanbase of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise who has been supporting the team unconditionally through the years.

The spotlight was on Virat Kohli, post match, with tears in his eyes sharing a warm hug with Anushka Sharma. He was surrounded by his former teammates, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, who made the occasion even more memorable.

“I’ve given this team my youth, my prime, and now my experience. Every season, I’ve come out and given it everything I have to try and win this. To finally have this moment arrive – it’s an unbelievable feeling,” he said.

The Finals – RCB VS PBKS

After being put to bat, RCB started well but failed to press the paddle in the last few overs and ended up with only 190 runs. The Punjab bowlers did a great job by restricting the run flow in the final 3 overs.

The score was below par, and the total felt 15–20 runs short on a pitch that favored stroke play.

But, it was still runs on the board in a final.

RCB defended 190 with a brilliant bowling display, led by Krunal Pandya and Josh Hazlewood.

Punjab, who till the finals played entertaining brand of cricket, but, failed to deliver with the bat. The batting crumbled under pressure of the finals.

 Key Moments of the game for Punjab

• Kyle Jamieson and Arshdeep Singh (PBKS) took 3 wickets each in the first innings.
• Shashank Singh played a valiant knock but the PBKS fell short by 6 runs.

Turning Points of the game for RCB  

• The Wickets of Shreyas Iyer and Josh Inglis.
• The bowling of Krunal Pandya. Krunal Pandya was named Player of the Match for his exceptional spell of 2 for 17. He picked up crucial wickets of Prabhsimran Singh and Josh Inglis.

What turned for the RCB this year

• Change in Think Tank. New Support staff like Dinesh Kartik became part of the core support team.
• Focusing on quality bowling rather than big glamorous names in batting.

Virat Kohli – Sluggish batting in the finals

While RCB managed to defend a below par score, Virat’s sluggish 43 off 35 balls had put RCB in trouble only to be rescued by the lower order batsmen.

Kohli managed just 13 runs off 10 balls during the powerplay, with only one boundary in a batting friendly pitch.

His eventual dismissal, later helped the lower-order batting to cover up to post 190 runs.

A special victory parade is planned in Bengaluru.

IPL 2025 Final: RCB vs PBKS Head to Head

RCB and PBKS have faced each other in 36 IPL matches. Out of these 37 games, RCB has won 19, while PBKS has won 18 times.

List of IPL 2025 winners with prize purse

• Winners RCB: ₹20 crore
• Runners-up PBKS: ₹12.5 crore
• Third-placed Mumbai Indians: ₹7 crore
• Fourth-placed Gujarat Titans: ₹6.5 crore
• Orange Cap winner (Sai Sudharsan): ₹10 lakh
• Purple Cap winner (Prasidh Krishna): ₹10 lakh
• Emerging Player winner (Sai Sudharsan): ₹10 lakh
• Most Valuable Player (Suryakumar Yadav): ₹15 lakh
• Super Striker of the season (Vaibhav Suryavanshi): ₹10 lakh + Tata Curvv car
• Fantasy King of the season (Sai Sudharsan): ₹10 lakh
• Best Catch winner (Kamindu Mendis): ₹10 lakh
• Most Dot Balls (Mohammed Siraj): ₹10 lakh
• Super Sixes (Nicholas Pooran): ₹10 lakh
• Fours of the season (Sai Sudharsan): ₹10 lakh
• Fairplay Award (Chennai Super Kings): ₹10 lakh