Virat Kohli's stirring IPL victory speech was worth the 18-year wait

India Today

04-06-2025

Seventeen IPL seasons passed, yet the one thing Virat Kohli never had was a title. The tournament kept him waiting, year after year, even as he gave it everything. He turned up each season, unflinching, driven, relentless. He piled on the runs, carried teams on his shoulders, but the trophy remained just out of reach. 17 years had passed. Teammates came and went. Contemporaries celebrated title after title. Yet Kohli stood alone, unmatched in stature but untouched by silverware.advertisementWhen the moment finally arrived, it broke through every wall he had built around himself. Before the final delivery of the IPL 2025 final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday, Kohli, standing along the boundary rope, dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks. He knew. The wait was over.Humiliation is a harsh word in sport, but RCB had lived with it for far too long. They were meme fodder, the punchline of every IPL joke. Kohli, who holds himself to impossible standards, had even learnt to laugh at the team's misfortune. But deep down, the drought hurt. It was, until Tuesday night, one of the most talked-about and ridiculed title waits in cricket. No more.
IPL 2025 final: HighlightsFor RCB fans, watching Virat Kohli celebrate -- with his teammates, with the woman he loves, with a former teammate he reveres -- must have been cathartic. Even the neutrals must have felt a lump in the throat as scenes of unfiltered joy unfolded at the Narendra Modi Stadium, after Punjab Kings fell seven runs short of chasing a target of 191.Tears. Roars. JubilationThe emotions of #RCB were raw, real, and 18 years in the making #TATAIPL | #RCBvPBKS | #Final | #TheLastMile | @RCBTweets pic.twitter.com/fXVTbfCZFp— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) June 3, 2025advertisementAnd then came the speech(es). On a night like this, words are often hard to find. But not for Kohli. They flowed with the same ease as the 8,661 runs he had scored across eighteen seasons - fluent and full of feeling. His voice carried the weight of the years, the near-misses, the heartbreaks, and the unwavering belief that this day would come.It was as if the speech had been living in him since the day he first wore RCB colours. Only the stage had kept him waiting. On Tuesday, he finally had it and he rose to the moment.ROAR OF RED"This win is as much for the fans as it is for the team. It's been 18 long years," Kohli told the broadcasters JioStar, a sea of red roaring behind him."I've given this team my youth, my prime, and my experience. I've tried to win this every season that I come, and I give it everything I have. And to finally have this moment come, it's an unbelievable feeling. I never thought this day would come," said the man who was fourth-time lucky on Tuesday.DOUBLE DELIGHT Virat Kohli had made a promise - and delivered. His close friend, AB de Villiers, had flown in to witness the end of the drought he too had endured. Kohli dedicated the trophy to him, inviting him onto the stage to share the moment of triumph.advertisement" I mean, what he has done for this franchise is absolutely tremendous, and I told him that before the game as well. 'This one is as much yours as it is ours, and I want you to celebrate with us when we lift that trophy by the end of the night', because what he's done for RCB is so very special," he said.AB de Villiers stood on the podium beside Kohli, their joy mingling in one of the most heartwarming scenes in IPL history.
AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle joined Virat Kohli on the podium in Ahmedabad (AP Photo)
LOYALTY AND HEARTKohli then spoke of loyalty - a rare and precious currency in franchise-based sporting tournaments. Since the IPL's inaugural season, he has been synonymous with RCB, steadfast through thick and thin, buoyed by a loyal fanbase to whom he tipped his hat.advertisement"I've stayed loyal to the team, no matter what. I've had moments when I thought otherwise, but I stuck to the team. I stood behind them, they stood behind me, and I always dreamt of winning it with them."And this is far more special than winning it with anyone else, because my heart is with Bangalore. My soul is with Bangalore. And as I said, this is the team I'm going to play for till the last day that I play the IPL," he said.UNENDING LOVE FOR TESTSOnly minutes after clinching the biggest prize in the biggest franchise cricket tournament on the planet, the icon of modern cricket paused to remind the next generation of the game's deepest roots - the Test format - from which he had recently stepped away."You know, this moment is right up there with the best moments I've had in my career. When it still marks five levels under Test, that's how much I value Test, and that's how much I love Tests."So I would just urge the youngsters coming through to treat that format with respect, because if you perform in Test cricket, you walk around anywhere in the world, people look you in the eye, shake your hand, and say, 'Well done, you play the game really well.'advertisement"So if you want to be respected in world cricket all over, take to Test cricket, give your heart and soul to it," he said.CRAFTING CHAMPIONSKohli made sure to honor the unseen heroes behind the scenes, whose meticulous planning, steadfast belief, and relentless toil from the mega auction right through to the final delivery made this victory possible.RCB had long been known as a team of superstars. But in 2025, they felt different - sharper, smarter, and more united. With some of the brightest minds in coaching - Andy Flower, Dinesh Karthik, and Director of Cricket Mo Babat - the team crafted a new strategy at the auction. They didn't chase big names. Instead, they filled gaps, buying an aggressive opener who eased Kohli's burden, finishers who could seal games, and a bowling unit packed with champions. They built an effective unit, not a constellation of stars."This management, this group of players, has been outstanding, to be honest."They've got the right kind of players, match-winners, people who take the game on. In the auction, a lot of people questioned our tactics, but by day two, we were very happy with what we had, and we had a lot of confidence in the strength of this group. I want to give a big shout-out to this team; this would not have been possible without each and every one in the playing eleven," he said.advertisementTHE BENGALURU GIRL
Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma celebrate RCB's IPL 2025 triumph (AP Photo)
Kohli paused to thank Anushka Sharma for standing by him through every high and low - a steadfast pillar of strength and love. He assured the crowd that the 'Bengaluru girl' in her would be as thrilled as he was to see RCB's long wait finally end."Anushka has seen me at my lowest, been through all the ups and downs with me. She's felt it all - the pain, the near misses."She's deeply connected to Bengaluru. She's a Bangalore girl too, and her bond with RCB is strong."So this is incredibly special for her as well. She's going to be so, so proud."THE PARTY IN THE CITY Kohli seemed eager to return to the garden city, where celebrations exploded in every corner. Fireworks lit the sky, chants echoed in the streets, tears of joy mingled with songs and dance - Bengaluru bathed in red long into the night.He promised his beloved 'Royal Loyals' that the joy was just beginning."The city is waiting. My god. I'm thinking about them. Imagine what the fans must be feeling now, poor ones. Someone sent me a video - the entire city is filled with fireworks. The whole city. It's very special. I can't express my feelings. I have to experience it," Kohli said, confirming that there would be a victory parade in Bengaluru on Wednesday.Namma Bengaluru! And good night! pic.twitter.com/c5qQXJJk4q— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) June 3, 2025FORGED IN FIREReflecting on the long, painful journey, Kohli acknowledged the hardships, the ridicule and the trolls that were all part of the story that forged unbreakable bonds."I've taken a lot of stress. I've heard all sorts of things: 'RCB this, RCB that'. It's all part of the journey. A lot of people have trolled us. A lot of people have made fun of us. All of it happened. But it made us stronger. It brought us closer - as a team, and as a franchise. The relationship our fans have with RCB, that golden connection, was forged through all these setbacks. Tonight, I will sleep peacefully. It's not going to be one of those nights of endless partying. Just peace," he added.VIrat Kohli's victory speech too was worth an 18-year-long wait!Trending Reel
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