Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) are battling it out today at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, each aiming to break new ground.
Both teams are still chasing their first-ever IPL title, setting the stage for a potentially historic final in the 18th edition of the tournament.
Kohli Seeks To Rewrite His Finals Record
For Virat Kohli, who has remained loyal to RCB since the tournament’s inception, this final offers another opportunity to change his fortunes.
Also Read: Light Rain In Ahmedabad Ahead Of IPL 2025 Final
Having lost three IPL finals (2009, 2011, 2016), Kohli is determined to secure a match-winning innings that will cement his legacy.
Shreyas Iyer’s Rise And PBKS Momentum
On the opposing side stands Shreyas Iyer, fresh off an inspired knock that eliminated Mumbai Indians on Sunday.
The Narendra Modi Stadium is familiar territory for Iyer, who led Delhi Capitals to the 2020 final before captaining Kolkata Knight Riders to IPL glory last year.
Punjab Kings’ dominant victory over Mumbai Indians has erased memories of their earlier Qualifier 1 defeat. Although RCB dismantled PBKS’s batting lineup in that match, Rajat Patidar’s side cannot afford complacency. When PBKS performs at their best, they become nearly unbeatable.
A Final To Remember
With both teams hungry for their maiden IPL trophy, Tuesday’s final promises to deliver a thrilling contest that will etch a new chapter in the tournament’s storied history.
Ee sala… The rest Is A History Now
They’ve come close so many times, and now, at the 18th attempt, they’re IPL champions. An incredible finish to this final, with Shashank hitting Hazlewood for 6, 4, 6, 6 to finish, but it all came in vain, because the first two balls of the over, with 29 needed at the start, were dot balls. Shashank finishes on an unbeaten 61 off 30 balls. What a season, and what an innings to finish, but it will be of no consolation either to him or to PBKS, because it’s all about RCB now. They’ve won by six runs, and that margin reflects how closely matched these two sides are, but it’s also a little deceptive because so many of those runs came after RCB had sealed victory.
It’s a sign of how far T20 has come that 190 beats 184 is a bowler-dominated game. PBKS did brilliantly to restrict RCB to 190, but RCB’s bowlers were even better, and used their experience to telling effect. I don’t know who’ll get the Player of the Match award, but Krunal Pandya has to be a frontrunner.
It’s been a terrific final, with so much ebb and flow to it, at the end of an outstanding season. It’s a pity that one of these two brilliant teams had to lose today.
With that, I’ll leave you and rush off to start on the match report. I’m doing this sitting at home in Bengaluru, and I can hear the fireworks going off. What a day for the city. How long they’ve waited for this.
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Shashank refuses singles and keeps strike for the entirety of the 19th over. Hits Bhuvneshwar for a straight six first ball, and shuffles across to help him for four to fine leg, where Krunal overruns the ball. Then manages to squeeze out a last-ball single to keep the strike. That means PBKS need 29 off the final over. It’ll be Hazlewood to bowl.
Six down
Azmatullah Omarzai had a pretty good day with the ball, but he can’t make an impact with the bat. Looks to clear his front leg and launch Yash Dayal down the ground, but it’s a clever little delivery from the left-armer, a back-of-the-hand slower ball angled away from off stump. Ends up skewing it high to short third, and PBKS need 46 off 16, with Kyle Jamieson joining Shashank at the crease.
Bhuvneshwar gets Wadhera… and Stoinis
Like Krunal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has the experience of winning a tight IPL final. He ends a fifth-wicket stand of 38, slanting what looks like a knuckleball across Wadhera and away from his hitting arc. Can’t find the power to clear the man at deep cover. In walks Marcus Stoinis. PBKS need 55 from 22.
PBKS needs 85 runs off 36 balls
Chasing a target of 191, PBKS still needs 85 runs off 36 balls. It is now getting tougher for Punjab Kings. Will Wadhera and Shashank change the course of match?
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