Virender Sehwag Backs This Side To Win IPL 2025. Then Says "Team I Support Loses"
Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab Kings - the IPL 2025 final will see a new team as champions. Both teams have been competing in the IPL since 2008. This is RCB's fourth final after 2009, 2011 and 2016, while PBKS are in their second IPL title clash after 2014. But, the trophy always eluded both. Whoever wins this time, it will be the end of a long wait. Ahead of the match, former Punjab Kings captain Virender Sehwag predicted the likely winner of the IPL 2025. His answer was full of humour.
"I think RCB will win. I have gone back to my old form because I have seen the team I support tend to lose, be it GT in the match against MI or Punjab Kings in the Qualifier 1 against RCB. Today, I supported MI vs PBKS in qualifier 2; they lost their matches," Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
Host Gaurav Kapoor then asked: "I asked who do you think will. Now, I am asking you, who are you supporting?"
Sehwag once again said, "RCB".
"This is also the case with the Indian team. When I openly supported them, they went on to lose that match," he added.
If RCB indeed win the IPL 2025, it will be an extra special occasion for Virat Kohli. The star India batter has given 18 years of his senior cricket career to Royal Challengers Bengaluru and their first-time skipper Rajat Patidar understands what it would mean for the team to win the coveted Indian Premier League title for one of country's bonafide cricket legends.
In all, RCB have played a total of three finals in 2009, 2011 and 2016 and have ended up on the losing side in each of the summit clashes with Kohli's individual brilliance not being enough for them to end their title drought.
'Of course. I think he has given a lot of years to RCB and the international side also. We will try to do our best in the game,' Patidar said on Monday during his pre-match press conference alongside PBKS' Shreyas Iyer when asked if the Kohli factor would dominate the build-up.
When asked if focus on one player alone was frustrating given RCB have been one of the most dominant sides in this competition, Patidar replied, 'I think it is not frustrating for me..
'We are not looking on the stage that we are in the finals. We will try to play our best cricket. We are not playing here for the stage. I always like to keep things simple,' he added.
The Kohli factor has certainly weighed heavily on RCB drawing strong crowd support even while playing away from home and Patidar said that gives them feeling of being on their home ground.
'Wherever we go, we feel that the crowd is a home ground for us and (given ) the way they are showing support and love from the (last many) years,' he said.
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