Did you see that coming? RCB ditch the drama with ice-cold nerves in Qualifier 1

India Today

3 days ago

Body language doesn't whisper in sport, it roars. Pakistan didn't win the 1992 World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground over 50 overs. They won it at the toss. Out walked Imran Khan, not in a team blazer, but in a plain white T-shirt with a tiger emblazoned across the chest. It wasn't a fashion choice. It was a message. In front of 75,000-plus spectators, the 'Cornered Tigers' had found their roar. Imran didn't carry the nerves of a first-time World Cup finalist. He strolled to the centre with the calm of a man who had already visualised the final frame: the trophy in his hands, history in his wake. His voice was steady, his swagger magnetic. For opposition captain Graham Gooch and England, the game may well have ended then and there. As the sun set in Melbourne, Pakistan rose, lifting the coveted trophy.advertisementCut to 2025. Different continent. Different format. But that same scent of certainty was in the air. Royal Challengers Bengaluru weren't just present at the IPL 2025 Qualifier 1, They arrived with intent sharp enough to slice through the thick May heat in Chandigarh.AB de Villiers, in the commentary box, saw it before anyone else. No bat had been swung. No coin had been tossed. But the moment Virat Kohli stepped off the team bus at Mullanpur, something shifted.
"I've got so much respect for the amount of energy he's still showing, the care, the will to win another trophy, that deep desire. And that's what I saw when I watched him out of that bus today. I just saw business once again. Those eyes laser-focused, really wanting to pull his weight for the team, and it's got such a big impact on the rest of the team."advertisementIt was all in the eyes of the RCB players, eyes that had seen too many playoff heartbreaks, too many promises left unfulfilled. For once, RCB didn't carry the heavy history of 11 playoff defeats like a curse on their shoulders. They looked like a team that had finally stopped flinching at the spotlight.ONE MOREThat's the word from the #RCB camp - IYKYK #TATAIPL | #PBKSvRCB | #Qualifier1 | #TheLastMile pic.twitter.com/kNe1kpgPYS— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 29, 2025Strangely enough, the centrepiece of this new RCB wasn't Kohli. It was Rajat Patidar - unglamorous and unshaken. No cinematic aura. Just a steely calm. Patidar looked like a man who knew exactly where his arrow needed to go: fish's eye, no distraction. And when you're leading a side haunted by its past, that kind of clarity is rare.Before the first ball was bowled, he made his way to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, quietly discussing plans, tightening the screws of strategy. No nerves. Just notes. Precision. It felt different.ON THURSDAY, THE PAST DIDN'T MATTEROn a stage where RCB have so often stumbled, they stood tall, with the conviction of a team that knew it was time. Punjab Kings never stood a chance.The body language of their fielders in the first few overs told the story. Liam Livingstone set the tone early, stopping what appeared to be a certain boundary by flinging himself across the turf. The inner ring felt like a fortress. Nothing went past it. RCB players were putting their bodies on the line to ensure their bowlers felt supported while executing their plans on a spicy surface.advertisementYes, the toss went RCB's way, giving them the advantage of having a crack at the Punjab Kings batters on a pitch with a good covering of grass. But it was the execution by their pacers that set the tone for their massive eight-wicket win.There were no freebies. The plan was clear: hit hard lengths and squeeze the room out of Punjab's explosive top order. Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh had set the tournament alight during the league phase. But on Thursday, the RCB pace trio snuffed out their fire - and the voices in the crowd - with clinical precision.Good teams don't overcomplicate things. They stick to the plan - and that's exactly what RCB did. The pacers did all the talking. On a pitch that offered zip and movement, RCB bowlers did the simple things right. Yash Dayal, in his first over, hit a good length and got the ball to tail into the left-hander. Priyansh played a well-timed shot, but straight into the hands of Krunal Pandya at short cover.advertisementOne down, nine to go. Bhuvneshwar Kumar joined the party. Prabhsimran, riding the exuberance that had fuelled his best-ever IPL season, charged down the track and dispatched the senior pacer for boundaries. Bhuvi didn't flinch. He hit the same length, and this time found the outside edge - Prabhsimran paid the price for a wild heave.Then came RCB's messiah - Josh Hazlewood. Despite returning after a month-long break, Hazlewood showed no signs of rust. In his very first over, he got one to zip off the surface, and the extra bounce was too much for PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer. Out of shape as he tried to heave across the line, he was gone.30 for 3 in the fourth over. Then came the big blow. Josh Inglis, fresh off a match-winning fifty against a Jasprit Bumrah-led Mumbai attack just days earlier, was undone by a sharp bouncer aimed at the body by Hazlewood. He went for the pull, but there wasn't enough on it to clear the deep fine-leg fielder.advertisement38 for 4 in the sixth over. RCB were in no mood to relax despite having Punjab on the mat. There was more pace as captain Rajat sensed the moment to go for the kill on a surface still assisting seamers in the sixth over.Yash Dayal was given an extra over after the powerplay - and the left-armer delivered. He removed Nehal Wadhera, Punjab's backbone in the lower middle-order, to twist the knife further.A start in their pursuit ofBhuvneshwar Kumar & Josh Hazlewood with back-to-back wickets to put #RCB on #PBKS are 48/4 after 6 overs.Updates https://t.co/FhocIrg42l#TATAIPL | #PBKSvRCB | #Qualifier1 | #TheLastMile pic.twitter.com/7JM3B672Nc— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 29, 202550 for 5 at the end of the seventh. And then, it was time for spin. There was no better moment for young leg-spinner Suyash Sharma to step in - and he made it count. He tore through the lower-middle order, taking three wickets in just the first eight balls of his spell.Punjab's crisis man, Shashank Singh, was undone by Suyash, and Punjab were in full-blown crisis. In a baffling move, Punjab sent out youngster Musheer Khan - making his IPL debut - as an Impact Sub at 60 for 7. The pressure was far too much.advertisementWith RCB's bowlers hunting for blood and Virat Kohli barking orders with unmatched aggression inside the 30-yard circle, Musheer fell for a duck. Marcus Stoinis struck a couple of lusty blows for his 26, but he too fell to Suyash, who was landing his googlies like a seasoned veteran.THE CATCH THAT DEFINED THE NIGHT The defining moment came in the 15th over. Josh Hazlewood returned to finish the job. A couple of streaky boundaries in the previous over had pushed Punjab past 100, but RCB were in no mood to concede even a shred more than what the wildly swinging Punjab deserved on a night their batting bordered on reckless.Another back-of-a-length delivery from Hazlewood, another wild heave - this time from Azmatullah Omarzai. The ball caught the edge and looked destined to race past the wicketkeeper. But Jitesh Sharma wasn't having it. He flung himself into the air and snatched a one-handed blinder, sending the commentary box into raptures."What a catch," exclaimed Ravi Shastri on air.It was a half-chance turned into a highlight reel moment. After years of heartbreak in clutch moments, RCB weren't letting even half-chances slip. And that told the story - of desperation, discipline, and the will to rewrite history.While the bowlers did the damage, it was Patidar's unflappable calm and precision that kept RCB's foot firmly on the pedal.Chasing 102 was mere formality - even with Kyle Jamieson swinging the ball like a violinist in the powerplay. Yes, RCB lost Virat Kohli early, but Phil Salt lit up the night with his fastest IPL fifty - a 23-ball blitz that ended the chase within 10 overs.By 10 pm, RCB had confirmed their place in the IPL final after nine long years.EYES ON THE BIG PRIZE Even the post-match scenes said it all. No chest-thumping. No exaggerated theatrics. Kohli simply raised his index finger and pointed to his wife, Anushka Sharma, in the stands, telling her that there's one more to go. Patidar, true to form, addressed the fans with a quiet promise: wait till June 3.For a team that once threw a yacht party just for making the playoffs, the muted reaction to reaching the final said everything.Yes, RCB have made all the right moves - smart auctions, better balance, fresh leadership, less reliance on one man. But on Thursday, they showed the real shift wasn't on the team sheet. It was in the mind.June 3 could be the day cricket's most agonising wait finally ends. If RCB bring the same focus, the same cold-eyed calm, and the same disregard for pressure, it just might be.Stay updated on IPL 2025 with India Today! Get match schedules, team squads, live score, and the latest IPL points table for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Plus, keep track of the top contenders for the IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap. Don't miss a moment!Must Watch
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