RCB Clinches First IPL Title in 18 Years with Thrilling Victory

RCB's Historic IPL Win

In a nail-biting final of IPL 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) secured their inaugural IPL championship after an 18-year wait, narrowly defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) by just six runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium. RCB posted a total of 190 runs for 9 wickets, while PBKS struggled to chase down the target, ultimately falling short by one run after Iyer was dismissed for a single run. Krunal Pandya was named the Player of the Match, and he shared his thoughts following the victory.

Krunal Pandya's Insights Post-Match

Krunal Pandya expressed, "While batting, we realized that slower deliveries were more effective. In this format, it takes courage to bowl slower. I trusted my instincts, varying my pace and opting for slower deliveries more frequently. My key strength lies in understanding the match situation. I knew I had to be bold to take wickets tonight, and I believed that bowling slower would help. If you bowled quickly, it would have been easier for the batsmen. Mixing it up made it challenging. The pitch actually became more favorable in the second innings. I've enjoyed my journey with RCB so far; I declared on day one that I wanted to win. I also told Hardik that the Pandya family would have nine trophies in eleven years."

Match Highlights: RCB vs PBKS

In the IPL final, RCB triumphed over PBKS by a mere six runs, thanks to Virat Kohli's exceptional leadership, finally bringing home the IPL trophy after 18 long years. Punjab Kings, starting with the ball, restricted RCB to 190 runs for 9 wickets, with notable performances from Arshdeep and Kyle, each taking three wickets. PBKS's top scorer was their batsman who managed 43 runs off 35 balls. RCB faced several challenges during their innings, losing key players. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2 for 38) and Krunal Pandya (2 for 17) played crucial roles in slowing down the PBKS batting lineup, which ended their innings at 184 runs for 7 wickets.