IPL 2025 recap: From Kohli and RCB conquering final frontier to decline of champions

Time of India

5 days ago

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Kohli's happy tears as RCB rejoice
Punjab Kings' rise
Mumbai Indians do a Mumbai Indians
Gill's Titans lose steam
Young guns make a strong dent
Daunting SRH misfire
CSK learn it the hard way
Sai Sudharsan comes of age
RR and KKR's forgettable season
High-flying DC nosedive
Marsh, Pooran stand tall in LSG rabble
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Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bengaluru conquered their final frontier but Shreyas Iyer 's resurgent Punjab Kings tripped on the last lap. Mercurial Mumbai Indians once again dazzled before rolling over, and Shubman Gill's Gujarat Titans succumbed when it came to winning those big moments.The 18th edition of the IPL , played over four months from late March to a few days into June, concluded with a fitting finale on Tuesday which saw years of toil and disappointment culminating in such an overwhelming end for RCB that it left their old warhorse in Kohli bursting out in emotions.In all, IPL's 74 matches this year took as many days to culminate in a sweet triumph for one team but left the rest nine with a lot of catching up to do when they come around for the 2026 edition.Here's a recap of cricket's most followed league's 18th season.The superstar failed to get going in the big final as his conservative 35-ball 43 with only three fours left RCB wanting. Luck seemed to be deserting Kohli's men as none of them could convert starts.But if, at the halfway mark, Punjab looked ahead, everything fell in place for RCB in final analysis. RCB put together an impeccable squad in the mega auction and fired in unison one last time this year to deliver a win which will be remembered for a long time.Until any player in future who bats as well as Kohli and spends as much time in the same franchise as the superstar has, the record of most runs by any player in IPL for a single team will remain with Kohli (9,085) and RCB. That also includes crossing the 600-run mark, which Kohli has done five times including this year with 657 runs.Shreyas Iyer's (604 runs with six 50s, average 50.33) performances in the last one year or so have been screaming out loud that there is more to him than what is perceived both as a batter and a leader. It was no surprise to see that he was the anchor of the perennial strugglers' remarkable turnaround.With a determined Iyer and hard-nosed head coach in Australian Ricky Ponting at the helm, Punjab's young squad marched into the final as a worthy challenger. A title win was not meant to be, but Punjab ensured they will now be considered among title challengers in the IPL.Fifth in 2021, 10th in 2022, 4th in 2023, 10th in 2024 and 4th in 2025 on the points table: IPL's perennial slow-starters have blown hot and cold since winning a fifth title in 2020.Four defeats in first five games marked yet another typical Mumbai Indians' start, but Hardik Pandya's men came back roaring to win the next six matches. Suryakumar Yadav (717 runs) crossed the 700-run mark for the first time for a MI batter. Sai Sudharsan , Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler and Prasidh Krishna shone brightest as Titans dominated the league stage but lost steam towards the business end. A top-two finish looked a mere formality but the Titans ended third in the league round and were humbled by MI in the Eliminator.RR's Vaibhav Suryavanshi was a 13-year-old when he was picked in the mega auction and at 14 in May, he became the youngest ever to score the fastest IPL ton for an Indian off 35 balls and second fastest ever, against Gujarat Titans.While Abhishek Sharma was also among those who hit centuries, it also included Punjab Kings' uncapped Priyansh Arya , who took apart a lowly CSK with his maiden IPL ton. Prabhsimran Singh also showed he has got the goods while Ayush Mhatre gave CSK some reasons to smile.Last year's runner-up SRH came in with one of the most intimidating batting line-ups but the all-out attack approach fell flat on its face. SRH began with the second highest total ever of 286/6 against RR and ended with the third highest, of 278/3 against KKR . In between, it looked like SRH never had a Plan B with the bat.Change is the only constant goes the old adage and CSK learnt it the hard way. CSK parted ways with its philosophy of keeping young talent on bench but it was too little too late as Dhoni's men found themselves out of contention pretty early in the league.At the top, the 17-year-old Mhatre thrived while Proteas' Dewald Brevis dazzled towards the end. The 20-year-old Afghan Noor Ahmad emerged as the most successful among CSK spinners which included R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.Sudharsan showed that a no-risk approach with relentless attack at every opportunity can be a way to amass runs. He won the Orange Cap with 759 runs including one century and six fifties at 54.21 and strike rate of 156.17 and was deservingly rewarded with a national call-up for the Test tour of England.From sweating on Sanju Samson's fitness and form to lack of gumption shown by others, RR endured a forgettable season to finish second last ahead of CSK. Parting ways with key players including Jos Buttler, Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and Trent Boult disturbed their balance.For KKR, skipper Ajinkya Rahane waged a lone battle but the season was poor for the franchise's costliest player and vice-captain Venkatesh Iyer. KKR lost more than they won halfway through the league round, and bowed out without much fight.The Capitals began looking like they wouldn't put a foot wrong but when it came to being clinical and consistent, the fight petered out. DC began with five wins in first six matches and were perched at the top of the table, but a stunning nosedive saw them lose five out of the next eight.Rishabh Pant's horror run with the bat, lack of depth in middle order and lack of variation in bowling saw Lucknow Super Giants miss out on playoffs again but Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram gave them substance amid Digvesh Rathi's theatrics.