IPL 2025 final preview, RCB vs PBKS: 17-year wait, 18th attempt, one dream

India Today

2 days ago

The 18th season of the Indian Premier League is set to crown new champions on Tuesday, June 3, as Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings collide at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.If you ask the broadcaster, nothing makes for a better final than this one. In the 18th season, if No.18 of the RCB side lifts the trophy for the first time, after a wait of 17 years, it will truly be a dream ending for a season that has been stretched to 50 days.advertisementIn between the tournament, the world has witnessed unprecedented escalations between India and Pakistan. They have witnessed multiple high-profile retirements from several forms of cricket—including that of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. And what could be a better ending than the No.18 lifting the title, one who has given the world of cricket so much?
He won the T20 World Cup in 2024, the Champions Trophy in 2025, and had won the ODI World Cup much before that. Given he is not going to win the ICC World Test Championship owing to his retirement, perhaps he deserves the IPL at least.But e sala cup namde? Can we say that? Kohli doesn't want you to. So much so that he has asked AB de Villiers, one of his closest mates, not to say it on camera till the deed is done. That sort of reflects on his character—one that has seen so much success, and yet so much pain. This is the one trophy that Kohli wants badly, one that he has sacrificed everything for, including his captaincy. He has willingly given it away, perhaps thinking that a fresh person can get the franchise rid of whatever had stopped them from winning the trophy for the last 17 years.advertisementBut we have to keep in mind that this is the Indian Premier League. Kohli is not the only story that will be on the pitch on Tuesday night.The Reinvention of Shreyas IyerShreyas Iyer, the captain of the Punjab Kings, has already featured in 2 finals, winning once with the Kolkata Knight Riders and losing once with a very young Delhi Capitals team.Amongst the IPL-winning captains, Shreyas is perhaps the only cricketer who does not get as much respect as he should. The right-handed batter is the only player in the history of the tournament who has been able to take three separate sides to the IPL final under three different coaches, and it is perhaps time that people started recognising that.Shreyas will be desperate to get his hands on the trophy because unlike last time, this campaign has been about him—about what he brings in as a leader.
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To Punjab Kings' credit, they have allowed Shreyas that, have allowed him to soak in the glory, helping him become a beast of a player, who is now raking runs for fun.advertisementHeck, in the Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians, Shreyas and his team ripped into Jasprit Bumrah, the scariest bowler in the modern era, and danced to the target of 204 runs in just 19 overs.That kind of win can boost a team's confidence, and that is perhaps what Shreyas and his side will be banking on.But more on that laterRajat Patidar's RCBHow do you come out of the shadow of a legendary leader who has been in an IPL franchise for 18 years? Want a simple answer? You do not.RCB handed the captaincy to Rajat Patidar, showing trust in the team's management and their ability to groom homegrown leaders. However, throughout the season, there were several moments where it seemed that Kohli, on the field, was not happy with Rajat's decision-making process.To make matters worse, RCB lost a string of matches inside their own home, which could have increased the noise around Rajat's captaincy this season. But it did not.Fortunately for Rajat, RCB went on a tremendous run outside of home, orchestrated by their bowlers and Virat Kohli. And partly, it was brave of Rajat to trust his own captaincy, where he stood inside the ring and guided the team to his best capabilities, without having Virat Kohli in his ear all the time.advertisementCaptains take time to grow to a stature, especially in a fast-moving tournament like the IPL. To Rajat's credit, he did not become another Ravindra Jadeja and made sure that the transition remained steady in the Bengaluru-based franchise.Andy Flower vs Ricky Ponting: Battle Behind the ScenesRCB vs PBKS is set to be the battle of two legendary people - Andy Flower and Ricky Ponting.On paper, they could not be further apart. In their cricketing days, Andy Flower was good, but not exceptional. While on the other hand, Ponting's credentials as a batter and a leader are nearly unmatched.In their coaching life, Flower has been leaps and bounds ahead of Ponting.Andy Flower is the greatest ever coach in the history of T20 cricket. He has coached in 5 T20 leagues and has won 101 matches and lost 68 of them - the best among anyone in the world.He has also won three of them. If he wins the IPL, it would make it four and take him away from the rest of the bigwigs in the world.advertisementFlower has also won the T20 World Cup with England and has also led the same team to multiple Ashes victories.Ponting, on the other hand, has won one IPL title with Mumbai Indians in 2015, and the Major League Cricket in 2024. He was the head coach of Delhi Capitals for 9 years but failed to win the IPL even once.However, this season, both have done incredible things with their respective sides.Tactically, Flower has guided a side to the IPL final which does not have a single established spinner - a department that led them to an incredible recovery in the previous edition of the tournament.However, this season, Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya were tasked with something particular, and they have executed that role to perfection this season.Krunal has bowled fast, like really fast, clocking 110 kmph at certain points, targeting heads of the batters with his bouncers.
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advertisementSuyash, on the other hand, has varied his pace. While largely he has bowled fast, on wickets with purchase, he has used his flight and ability to turn the ball into the right-hander to great effect.Punjab, on the other hand, are a team of second-skill players.Second skill? What is a second skill?Let Punjab Kings' bowling coach James Hopes explain that to you:'What we've done is, by having all-rounders, we're always able to strengthen what we do second - and still have something up our sleeve if the first hour goes wrong. That's all we're trying to do. Whatever we do second - bat or bowl - we want a stronger hand,' Hopes told India Today.He elaborated on how this approach added depth and flexibility:'With the all-rounders, we can pick all our bowling and still bat till No. 8. Azmatullah comes in at 8, Marco's already in the top eight. Then it's Arshdeep and Chahal. So if we're six down early, we bring in another all-rounder who can bat us out of trouble. If our top six or seven deliver, we just bring in the spinner - Brar - and get 6–8 overs from two of our top 8. That's great.'Chase-Loving TeamsIn terms of batting, both teams love chasing. Both teams have won 7 times while opting to chase in this IPL.In RCB's case, the chases have been set up by their bowling department away from home. In fact, RCB have the greatest away record in the history of the tournament, winning all of their matches this season.Virat Kohli has been instrumental in their chases so far, amassing multiple fifties while chasing a target. The only time RCB failed to chase down a target outside of Chinnaswamy Stadium this season was in Lucknow, against SRH, where they failed to gun down a target of 232 runs.But luckily for them, it was technically not their away game.Punjab, on the other hand, hinge on the ability of their top order to go berserk from the very start. Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya have the ability to give the side a great start in the powerplay.And from there, it is just about Shreyas Iyer, and his understanding of a chase. Shreyas is enjoying his best-ever IPL, both with the bat and as a captain. He has already scored 603 runs this season at a ridiculous strike rate of 175.Amongst the 6 batters who have broken the 600-run barrier this season, his is the highest. To give a contrast, Virat Kohli has batted at a SR of 145 this season.RCB vs PBKS: The Story of IPL 2025 So FarRoyal Challengers Bengaluru have met Punjab Kings thrice this season. The record is with RCB 2-1. It was only the first outing in the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium that Punjab were able to beat RCB. In that rain-marred game, RCB were destroyed by the Punjab pacers, getting reduced to 95/9 in a rain-marred 14-over game.Punjab made easy work of it and chased it down in just 12.1 overs.The next one came in Mullanpur, where Punjab batted first, and on a tricky surface, they simply could not bat outside the powerplay. In the second innings, RCB batters showed maturity and professionally chased down a target of 158 runs, owing to Virat Kohli's 73* - the batter's best outing this season.The third one came in Mullanpur, just a few nights back, where RCB pacers ripped Punjab a new one at their own home ground. Just like RCB, Punjab also have not enjoyed playing in their own home.They faltered in just 14.1 overs, getting wrapped up for just 101 runs. In reply, RCB made easy work of it, finishing the match in just 10 overs.The fact that both teams play this fixture away from home adds drama to the clash.Ahmedabad is a venue where Punjab have enjoyed their time. On a flat batting track, Shreyas Iyer has scored in both the matches that he has featured in.RCB, on the other hand, have not played a single match at the venue this season, but they do boast of a better bowling attack.IPL 2025: Road to FinalWhat a season Royal Challengers Bengaluru have had. Incredible away record and a top 2 qualification for a team that was not given much of a chance at the start of the season.They comprehensively beat Punjab in their playoffs and now will be gunning for victory.Punjab, on the other hand, with their army of all-rounders, have played the game in a unique way. They lost 3 out of their 5 matches in Mullanpur but made that up in their away games, where they won 5 out of their 7 games.IPL Final: Pitch and weather forecast in AhmedabadThe Indian Premier League final is expected to be affected by rain, according to a prediction from the Ahmedabad weather department on Monday, June 2. Speaking to India Today, weather department director Arunkumar Dasane said that conditions are likely to remain cloudy throughout the day, with light to moderate rainfall expected in isolated areas.If the pitch remains under covers, it has the tendency to do odd things. While it is largely expected to be a batting track, the pitch might do a few funny things in the initial overs.RCB vs PBKS: Predicted XIs and Impact SubsRoyal Challengers Bengaluru: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarwal, Rajat Patidar (c), Liam Livingstone/Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh HazlewoodImpact Sub: Suyash Sharma.Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Kyle Jamieson, Arshdeep SinghImpact Sub: Yuzvendra Chahal/Harpreet Brar.RCB vs PBKS: PLAYERS TO WATCHArshdeep Singh (PBKS)Given the conditions might be heavily towards the cloudy side, one can expect some top-notch bowling from Arshdeep Singh. If he has the heart to bowl full and search for the swing, he might be a handful for the RCB batters on Tuesday.Shreyas Iyer (PBKS)Shreyas, the batter, has made life easier for Shreyas, the captain. He will be batting in Ahmedabad, which unquestionably is his favourite venue at the moment. He showed the ability to calculate and gun down a total against Mumbai Indians in a pressure game. RCB would know that Shreyas is the prized wicket from Punjab's side in the final.Virat Kohli (RCB)No one loves pressure quite like Virat Kohli. He failed in Qualifier 1, but it is unlike him to falter in two games in a row at the big stage.Rajat Patidar (RCB)This is the biggest game of Patidar's life. Apart from the batter, the focus will be on his captaincy. Big and brave calls like the ones in Qualifier 1 have the tendency to completely change the nature of the game.Josh Hazlewood (RCB)Rain and Josh Hazlewood are a match made in heaven. RCB's leading wicket-taker played out a riveting game in his last match. More importantly, Hazlewood's crazy record is that he has never lost a final. That might just be the lucky charm that RCB need in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.Tune InTrending Reel
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