Inside RCB's title winning IPL campaign
AHMEDABAD: Krunal Pandya was jumping up and down with his fists up at the short third-man. Punjab Kings' Shashank Singh had sent Royal Challengers Bengaluru pacer Josh Hazlewood to the ropes on the fourth ball of the last over in the 2025 IPL final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Tuesday night.
Krunal was not celebrating the fact that his teammate was hit for a four, but because he knew it did not matter. He knew he had won his fourth IPL trophy, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru had won their first. He knew no matter what happens in the next two deliveries, Ee saala cup namdu (this year, the cup is finally RCB's).
Away from him in the deep midwicket boundary, Virat Kohli was struggling to keep it together. Right from the second ball of that Hazlewood over, Kohli had been shaking restlessly, waiting for it all to be over. He had turned towards AB de Villiers — a best friend and a former teammate — indicating that he was gonna cry. The tears dripped down over the next few deliveries before he eventually went down.
In the other part of the ground was Rajat Patidar — the injury replacement batter from 2022, who had now become the first male captain to win a trophy for the Bengaluru franchise. He was smiling, but his cheeks were red, eyes were wet. It was a common emotion that prevailed not just on the players who were in the field waiting for Hazlewood to complete the over, but also on the 70,000-odd fans who had turned up in RCB colours in the stands.
The moment they had been agonisingly waiting for finally came when Shashank smashed Hazlewood over the extra cover boundary. Nobody cared where the ball went or what the margin was. Not even the Punjab Kings team. They were too heartbroken to care. In fact, head coach Ricky Ponting would later ask the press corps whether the last ball was six and what the margin of defeat was.
The margin — no matter how small it was — did not matter. RCB and Kohli knew it too. They have been on the losing side far too many times. Not on Tuesday. Not in 2025. This IPL, right from the day the mega auction was over, RCB had the markings of a title-winning squad. This was not a squad built on superstar batters on whom they historically spent more than they should. This was a team built with match-winners, players with specified roles and an Indian core that complemented Kohli. This was a campaign built on multiple heroes from different parts of the country and the world who came together to make the dream come true.
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