RCB end 18 years of wait, romp to maiden IPL title with smashing win over Punjab Kings

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

Do away with all the memes. All the jokes. For the first time in 18 years of the Indian Premier League, RCB are CHAMPIONS. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru defended 190 against an in-form Punjab Kings to end the franchise's long, agonising and painful wait for a maiden IPL win. Krunal Pandya's splendid show of 2/17 from four overs knocked the stuffing out of PBKS' batters, allowing the one-and-only Virat Kohli to realise his dream of what it feels like to have all premier trophies in his cabinet. Kohli was already a World Cup winner, a World T20 champion, and a Champions Trophy holder. He will now wake up on June 4, 2025, as an IPL champion.
For RCB, legends have come and gone. Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Daniel Vettori and even Kohli himself tried their best but couldn't get RCB over the line. Rajat Patidar, 32, in his first year as captain, outshone them all, cementing his place in the RCB histor books.
At a venue where 200-run targets have been chaseable without breaking much sweat, RCB must get all the credit in the world for defending a total 10 runs short of. Given the start Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya provided Punjab, the target did not look threatening at all. But once Rajat Patidar rolled the dice on his spinners, the wheels began to come off. From 72/1 in the ninth over, PBKS slipped to 98/4 in less than four overs, with Krunal leading the charge.
RCB turned to spin to shift the tide, with Krunal delivering a miserly seventh over to stifle PBKS. Suyash Sharma was introduced, but Inglis and Prabhsimran broke free, each hammering a six. Krunal hit back though, dismissing Prabhsimran, and the pressure intensified when Romario Shepherd landed a massive blow, removing Shreyas Iyer. Inglis kept PBKS alive, punishing short balls with another six in Shepherd's 12th over. However, the game tilted decisively in RCB's favour when Krunal dismissed Inglis in the 12.1st over, caught by Liam Livingstone at long-on.
With all eyes on Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh – PBKS's last recognised batting pair, but despite a couple of lusty blows, much damage wasn't inflicted. With the required run rate touching 16 an over, the 17th over, bowled by Bhuvneshwar, was going to be make or break for Punjab. And break it was, with Nehal and Marcus Stoinis perishing in three balls. RCB believed, as did their fans. Even the legendary AB de Villiers rushed out of the commentary box to stand near the boundary.
RCB's batting lineup, led by the experienced Kohli, struggled to find momentum against a disciplined Punjab Kings attack. The innings began brightly with Phil Salt's aggressive start, smashing a six and a four off Arshdeep Singh in the opening over to race to 13/0. However, Kyle Jamieson struck early for Punjab, dismissing Salt for 16 in the second over.
Kohli and Mayank Agarwal steadied the ship, guiding RCB to 59/1 by the end of the powerplay. Agarwal played fluently, finding boundaries with ease, including an aerial cover drive off Vijaykumar Vyshak. However, Yuzvendra Chahal turned the tables by dismissing Agarwal. Kohli, adopting an anchor role, struggled to accelerate, managing only three boundaries at a strike rate of 123.08. RCB captain Rajat Patidar injected some momentum with a six off Chahal, but his aggressive intent was cut short by Jamieson's slow yorker. Azmatullah Omarzai further dented RCB's hopes by dismissing Kohli with a well-directed short ball, which Kohli top-edged.
The middle order faltered as Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma failed to capitalise on their starts. Jitesh briefly ignited hopes with two sixes off Jamieson, including a stunning scoop over the keeper, but his departure in the 18th over left RCB at 171/6. Romario Shepherd's late cameo (four and six in the 19th over) kept RCB's hopes of crossing 200 alive, but Arshdeep Singh's sensational final over turned the game decisively.
Arshdeep, despite an expensive night earlier, redeemed himself with a match-defining 20th over. He removed the dangerous Shepherd on the second ball, followed by Krunal Pandya two balls later, and capped it off by dismissing Bhuvneshwar Kumar on the final delivery, finishing with three wickets.