IPL 2025 Final: A contrast of ecstasy and agony in Ahmedabad, PBKS fall short as RCB lift first-ever IPL title

Teary eyes of the former skipper and the cricketing legend, Virat Kohli, were the testimony of how this moment meant for him and for which he invested 17 years and 18 IPL seasons. The dedication, loyalty, and patience of Virat Kohli, RCB, and their fans finally paid off after years of agony, culminating in an ecstatic night on June 3, 2025.

On the other hand, it was an agonising end for Shreyas Iyer-led PBKS, who put in their all efforts in this season but eventually fell just 6 runs short of their first-ever IPL title. One would never forget the giant efforts of Punjab Kings in IPL 2025, the team that was mostly studded with uncapped players, except for Indian star Shreyas Iyer.

It took 17 long years, 18 seasons, four final appearances and multiple heartbreaks for the fans’ favourite RCB to lift their first-ever historic IPL title. Under the charismatic leadership of newly appointed skipper Rajat Patidar, RCB defeated PBKS in the thrilling IPL 2025 final by a narrow margin of 6 runs to earn their ‘moment for the ages’, lifting the first-ever IPL title.

Quick contributions help RCB post 190+ total in 1st innings

The stage to get a new IPL champion was all set at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, as PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and asked RCB to bat first. Batting first, RCB posted a decent total of 190 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.

Former skipper and the modern-day batting legend, Virat Kohli, scored 43 runs off 35 balls, with three fours, followed by 24 and 26 runs, scored by Mayank Agarwal and skipper Rajat Patidar. Later in the innings, Liam Livingstone and the wicketkeeper-batter, Jitesh Sharma, also contributed with 25 and 24 runs, respectively. Romario Shepherd also added a quick 17 runs off just nine balls, with one four and a six.

Star pacers, Arshdeep Singh and Kyle Jamieson, scalped 3 wickets each for PBKS in the first innings, alongside a wicket each bagged by Azmatullah Omarzai, Vijaykumar Vyshak, and Yuzvendra Chahal.

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RCB bowlers dominate second innings as PBKS middle-order fumbles

While chasing the target, the Punjab Kings got a blistering start of 43 runs in just 5 overs by the opening pair of Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh. Arya scored 24 runs, followed by Prabhsimran’s 26 runs off 22 balls, with two sixes. Furthermore, the number three batter Josh Inglis also contributed with 39 runs off 23 balls, with one four and four sixes.

The collapses of skipper Shreyas Iyer and middle-order batter Nehal Wadhera happened to put PBKS on the back foot. However, the star middle-order batter, Shashank Singh, threw his all efforts to win the game for PBKS, but his knock went in vain as they were restricted to the score of 184 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in the entire 20 overs. Shashank showed grit and determination, scoring 61 runs off just 30 balls, three fours and six sixes, but that ended on the wrong side of the game.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal Pandya scalped 2 wickets at 38 and just 17 runs in their respective spells of four overs each. Apart from these two, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, and Romario Shepherd also claimed a wicket each to help RCB lift their historic and first-ever IPL title.

Eventually, RCB’s ecstatic moment happened to be real as they won the highly anticipated final by a margin of just 16 runs.

Speaking of Punjab Kings, they have a lot of positives to take from their IPL 2025 campaign, forgetting a narrow margin fall in the tournament’s summit clash.

Also Read: WATCH: Azmatullah Omarzai's stunning caught-and-bowled ends Virat Kohli's knock in RCB vs PBKS IPL 2025 Final