IPL 2025 Emotional Rollercoaster: Talisman Kohli basks in champions spotlight, Sarpanch Shreyas learns about ‘chardi kalan' eternal resilience & Jitesh proves he's Kohli's best roomie

Indian Express

3 days ago

Someone took a catch, someone got a wicket, but the TV cameras, almost immediately, found a way to focus on Virat Kohli on the field as Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended their 18-year-wait for an IPL title. Whoever is the captain or the match-winner of the team, it is always about the heart, soul, face and talisman of the team. And ironically, the crown has come when the team finally veered away from the galacticos approach that they followed for most of their existence. They realised that despite all the batting firepower they assembled over the years, it would be bowling potency that would get them to the promised land. As Bhuvneshwar Kumar, one of the lynchpins of the attack, once said: 'Batsmen win sponsorships, bowlers win championships.' And it was the unheralded Krunal Pandya, not even the most famous cricketer in his family, who did the star turn on the big day in Ahmedabad. But as the team made sure of victory, it were the tears of their one player which everyone saw. In this, the franchise remained true to type.
– Tushar Bhaduri
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Post their loss against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Qualifier 1 at Mullanpur, Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer had shared how they had lost the battle but not the war. Punjab Kings had made it to an IPL final 11 years ago and only once since 2008 before Tuesday's final. While his bowlers restricted RCB to a below par total of 190 on the Ahmedabad pitch, Iyer had a rare failure with the bat and the other big hitters could not take the team home. With six uncapped players in the team, Iyer along with head coach Ricky Ponting would be telling his team about not worrying about the loss and having his faith for the next season. For Iyer though, Punjabis will stay with the nickname 'Sarpanch' for the Mumbai batsman and the 30-year-old would also be reminded of the Punjabi wordings 'Chardi Kalan' meaning a mental state of eternal resilience, optimism and to rise above adversity. That's the Mantra Iyer has followed in his career and the days spent in Punjab too would have also taught Iyer the same.
– Nitin Sharma
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After RCB's win against PBKS in Qualifier 1 – where he scored a stylish half century in a quick run-chase – Phil Salt was asked by the broadcasters what was going through his mind when Kyle Jamieson bowled a peach of an over that saw him get the wicket of Virat Kohli and beat the bat of Mayank Agarwal repeatedly. Salt joked: 'Don't get out to Arshdeep — that was the only thing on my mind. We played two group games with PBKS and he's got me out in different ways.' Indeed Arshdeep had taken out Salt four times in the nine T20 innings he has bowled to him. And so when Salt was left to face Arshdeep first up on the day of the big final, the Englishman decided to take the attack to the pacer right away. Two deliveries around his hip region, the first was swivel-pulled for six, just clearing the fielder at fine leg, and the next, more finely pulled for four. It ought to have put any nerves Salt had at ease… but alas, this time around, he was out to Jamieson the very next over.
– Vinayakk Mohanarangan
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In the early stages of the IPL final, Arshdeep Singh looked to have a night which closely mirrored Inter's Federico Dimarco's Champions League final performance. He had given 24 runs from his first two overs and also made an unintentional blunder near the boundary ropes. While trying to catch a shot by Mayank Agarwal, the ball fell just short of Arshdeep but he inadvertently caught it with his shin and kicked it over the ropes. On Saturday night, Dimarco had such a nightmare start for Inter against PSG when he kept Doue onside for Hakimi's tap-in. For the second PSG goal, his limbs came into play as Doue's shot deflected off him into his own net. He was dragged off early due in the second half. Arshdeep though, had his redemption when he caught Agarwal off Yuzvendra Chahal's delivery.
– Sayak Dutta
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It was the topspinner that Yuzvendra Chahal specialises in T20s. He has a man at long-leg in big grounds and purposefully bowls it on the middle and leg line, almost daring the batsmen to go for the pull. And he did it again to lure Mayank Agarwal, who fell for it. The ball skidded off back of length and hurried on straight in that line, and Agarwal went down on his knee for the pull. But the pace off the pitch, the cramping line and length meant he couldn't clear the fielder in the deep. Chahal pumped his right fist in celebration. Once Kane Williamson had told this newspaper about Chahal's tactics. 'He deliberately bowls that leg and middle line, tosses it up to me to make me go for the slog sweep. Sometimes he wins, at times I get it right.' With Mayank, the tossed-up delivery wasn't probably ideal; the shot had to be cramped for room and hence the quick skidding toppie- and that worked.
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Usually known to exploit the powerplay conditions, Kohli played just 10 balls in the powerplay against Punjab Kings. Phil Salt took the aggresror's role scoring 12 runs off Arshdeep Singh in the first over but he was silenced in the second over as Kyle Jamieson took his wicket to give the first blow to Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Mayank Aggarwal came at number three for RCB and despite hitting a six in the third over, he failed to get going. Playing 17 balls in the power play, Mayank scored just 24 runs with two fours and one sixes before getting out to Yuzvendra Chahal in the seventh over.
Kohli on the other hand, managed only one boundary, when he flicked Jamieson in the fourth over, going into his usual anchor role.
RCB scored 55 runs in six overs, making it a slow start in the final. Arshdeep and Jamieson kept things tidy for Punjab Kings.
-Pritish Raj
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The hard-length ball from Vijayakumar Vyshak speared into Rajat Patidar's off-stump. In a red-ball game, he could have shouldered arms on length; in an ODI game, he could have run it down the third man for a single. But here, he just uncorked his wrists to open the bat face and tapped the ball, from right next to the body, from right under his eyes, between backward point and third man, and third man. The RCB captain has not been in his best touch this edition, but this was all soft, nimble hands, and the stroke revved him into top gear. From the other end, Kohli expressed his approval with a clenched-fists gesture. The stroke though had none of the violence.
– Sandip G
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The Universe Boss Chris Gayle is in stands watching the match wearing a RCB jersey and a red Turban. Gayle, who had played for Kolkata Knightriders from 2009 to 2010, had played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru from 2011 till 2017 and was also inducted in RCB Hall of Fame later. In 2018, Gayle had joined the then Kings XI Punjab in 2018 and played for the team till 2021 and ended his IPL career with 4,965 runs in 142 matches. With the turban symbolising Punjab and the jersey representing Royal Challengers Bengaluru, it was a puzzle for which team The Universe Boss will be cheering? 'I am from Jamaica but it's one India always. My turban, RCB jersey and RCB shoes. Both teams I represent and I love both the teams. We are going to have a good game tonight,' Gayle told RCB Social Media prior to the match.
– Nitin Sharma
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Kyle Jamieson and Yuzvendra Chahal once played for RCB but are now with Punjab Kings. Mayank Agarwal was once with the Punjab franchise but turned out for the Bengaluru franchise in Tuesday's final. Vijaykumar Vyshak was an RCB-ian last year but is in the red of the Punjab Kings now. IPL is a small cricket world where almost everyone knows everyone else, but these few examples made the game look like an old family reunion. And the feeling was not restricted to the field of play. Chris Gayle, who has played for both franchises, was in the stands sporting a turban (presumably as a nod to the Punjab franchise) and an RCB jersey. In the helter-skelter world of the IPL, player movements are difficult to keep track of, especially by the casual fans, though the really marquee names are rarely let go. Shifting loyalties are a reality that franchise cricket made peace with a long time ago.
– Tushar Bhaduri
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With his height – 6 foot 8 inches- the batsmen don't seem to expect really full deliveries from Kylie Jamieson, and time and again he shocks them. But it would take more than a really full ball or a yorker even to dislodge Rajat Patidar, who was looking in great flow. And so, Jamieson came up with a slower yorker that dipped on the middle stump line, evading the leg side swipe and pinging the front leg right in front of the stumps. The sequence of the deliveries was the key to get Patidar though. He bowled three consecutive slower ones but two of them were bouncers and one on a length. The length ball was smashed over long-off but the bouncers were awkwardly played. Then came the wicket ball, another slower one but the real-full one and Patidar was cooked. 'I think as a tall guy, naturally your length is further back, but over time you get used to trying to bring it a little bit fuller. With my height, I can afford to go a fraction fuller,' Jamieson had once said, and on a big IPL night he has walked that tall talk.
– Sriram Veera
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It was almost a deja-vu. In a vital juncture in the Champions Trophy game against England who were on course for a win, Azmatullah Omarzai had produced an utter beauty – a slower bouncer to induce Joe Root to glove it to the keeper. And Afghanistan won that game. Months later, he found himself facing yet another key moment in the IPL final against RCB. It was clear that Kohli , who was playing a sedate game, will go after him as it was the 15th over of the innings. Omarzai, who is rated highly by the Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott, decided to reproduce the slower bouncer. Kohli swivelled for the pull but the 127 kmph ball kept climbing, slowly at that, completely upsetting Kohli's balance and poise, and unsurprisingly the ball lobbed to mid wicket. Kohli might still have escaped but Omarzai wasn't done; he ran frantically towards the untenanted area, stretched his palms out and somehow managed to come down to the turf with the ball in hand.
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Recently Virat Kohli was asked in a RCB video about who he would like to room with, given a choice. He plumped for Jitesh Sharma, saying that 'One guy who is really funny but hasn't opened up with me is Jitesh. I would really want to see that fun, raw side of him. Because I can see it in his eyes that he has got that mischief about him. He is very street smart – you can see that on the field. He finds different ways of looking at things. So I would like to get to know him more.'
That street-smart and mischievous eyes were on full display on the big IPL final night, and the highlight being an impetuous six off Kylie Jamieson in the 17th over. The first ball was a well-directed slower bouncer, and Jitesh's eyes widened, his body crouched, and he somehow got his bat down and up in a swatting motion to send the ball right over his head for a stunning six.
– Sriram Veera
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru's wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma was going beserk after coming to bat post Virat Kohli's wicket in the 2025 IPL final.
He came to bat and took on Arshdeep Singh immediately hitting him for consecutive fours in the 16th over. After that he went after Kyle Jamieson hitting him for two audacious sixes in the 17th over. The first one was a rollicking one with a stunning scoop on a short ball and the second one was a high six over the long-off.
However, Vyshak Vijaykumar troubled him in the 18th over getting him caught behind though umpire reversed the decision.
On the very next ball, Jitesh swung hard and the ball took the inside edge to his back thigh and disturbed the bails.
Vyshak, a Bengaluru native and former RCB player, wanted to celebrate with a fist pump but controlled himself in the end. Probably bringing a flavour of football where players don't celebrate against their former teams.
– Pritish Raj
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Priyansh Arya is a fine batsman with great hands but if this IPL has made one thing clear about his still-developing batsmanship it is that he is restricted a touch on the leg side. He can throw his hands serenely on the off side and has a great knack of picking gaps but he doesn't flow as freely on the leg side. And trust Josh Hazlewood to hone in on that. The one big shot he has on leg side is the short-arm wavy pull which he attempted but Phil Salt was calmness personified at deep square leg. He pouched the ball, flicked it up even as he went over the boundary, and hopped back in to complete the catch.
– Sriram Veera
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It was almost similar to the way Shreyas Iyer fell in Ahmedabad during the ODI world cup final in 2023. Back then it was Pat Cummins; now it was Romario Shepherd. Cummins had slipped in a back of length skidder just outside off, inducing a iffy poke from Shreyas who nicked it behind. Romario produced a almost similar ball, perhaps a touch further away, and Shreyas had yet another poke under the Ahmedabad floodlit night. The result was the same, edge and gone. He had made 4 from 3 balls in 2023 and now just one run. Virat Kohli leaped as high as his idol Cristiano Ronaldo in celebration.
– Sriram Veera