Virat Kohli, RCB Win First IPL Title After 18-Year Drought
Sport
7 min read
The Royal Challenger Bengaluru (RCB) finally won their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title, beating Punjab Kings by 6 runs to end their 18-year title drought. The final of the 18th edition of the IPL was held at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on June 3, 2025.
It was also Virat Kohli's first IPL title, as he has been with RCB since he started playing the IPL.
This was the fourth IPL final for RCB, while Punjab Kings, which was earlier known as Kings XI Punjab, was appearing in the final for the second time.
Virat Kohli and Krunal Pandya led RCB to first IPL Title
Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss in the final and put RCB in. Virat Kohli was the top scorer for RCB, scoring 43 runs in 35 balls. Virat Kohli was ably supported by RCB Captain Rajat Patidar, who scored 26 runs off 16 balls.
RCB ended their innings at 196 for 9 in their allotted 20 overs.
Chasing 191 to win in their allotted 20 overs, the Punjab Kings fell short by 6 runs.
Punjab Kings needed 29 runs in the last over. Australian Josh Hazlewood bowled the last over. His first two balls were dot balls. Though Shashank Singh of Punjab Kings hit the next four balls for 6,4,6,6, it was too late in the context of the match.
Earlier, the Punjab Kings struggled to score due to excellent bowling by Krunal Pandya (17/2 in his 4 overs) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2 for 38 runs in his 4 overs).
Player of the Final - Krunal Pandya of the RCB.
Awards winners of the TATA IPL 2025
Winner - RCB, Collected a cheque of Rs 20 crore and the winner's Trophy
Runner-Up- Punjab Kings, collected a cheque of Rs 12.5 crore and the Shield.
Orange Cap- It is given to the highest run scorer in the IPL - Sai Sudarshan of Gujarat Titans (759 runs).
Purple Cap- Given to the highest wicket taker - Prasidh Krishna of Gujarat Titans (25 wickets)
Most Valuable Player of the IPL - Surya Kumar Yadav of the Mumbai indians
Emerging Player of the IPL - Sai Sudarshan of Gujarat Titans
Catch of the Season - Kamindu Mendis of Sunrisers Hyderabad, who took the catch of Dewald Brevis of Chennai Super Kings
Maximum Fours - Sai Sudarshan (88)
Maximum Sixes -Nicholas Pooran of Lucknow SuperGiant (40)
Fair Play Award - Chennai Super Kings
IPL and Its Winners
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a club-based franchise cricket league played in a 20-over format.
It is organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The BCCI has set up an IPL Governing Council, which runs the IPL and is currently headed by Arun Dhumal.
The first edition was held in 2008 and has been held annually since then.
Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians are the most successful teams in the IPL, each with five titles.
Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals are the only teams that have yet to win an IPL title.
Currently IPL has ten teams - Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai indian, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Lucknow SuperGiants, Gujarat Titans, Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals.
List of the winners of the IPL
|
Edition |
Year |
Winner |
Runners-Up |
Final venue |
|
1 |
2008 |
Rajasthan Royals |
Chennai Super Kings |
Mumbai |
|
2 |
2009 |
Deccan Chargers |
Royal Challengers Bengaluru |
Johannesburg, South Africa |
|
3 |
2010 |
Chennai Super Kings |
Mumbai Indians |
Mumbai |
|
4 |
2011 |
Chennai Super Kings |
Royal Challengers Bengaluru |
Chennai |
|
5 |
2012 |
Kolkata Knight Riders |
Chennai Super Kings |
Chennai |
|
6 |
2013 |
Mumbai Indians |
Chennai Super Kings |
Kolkata |
|
7 |
2014 |
Kolkata Knight Riders |
Kings XI Punjab |
Bengaluru |
|
8 |
2015 |
Mumbai Indians |
Chennai Super Kings |
Kolkata |
|
9 |
2016 |
Sunrisers Hyderabad |
Royal Challenger Bengaluru |
Bengaluru |
|
10 |
2017 |
Mumbai Indians |
Rising Pune Supergiants |
Hyderabad |
|
11 |
2018 |
Chennai Super Kings |
Sunrisers Hyderabad |
Mumbai |
|
12 |
2019 |
Mumbai Indians |
Chennai Super Kings |
Hyderabad |
|
13 |
2020 |
Mumbai Indians |
Delhi Capitals |
Dubai, UAE |
|
14 |
2021 |
Chennai Super Kings |
Kolkata Knight Riders |
Dubai, UAE |
|
15 |
2022 |
Gujarat Titans |
Rajasthan Royals |
Ahmedabad |
|
16 |
2023 |
Chennai Super Kings |
Gujarat Titas |
Ahmedabad |
|
17 |
2024 |
Kolkata Knight Riders |
Sunrisers Hyderabad |
Chennai |
|
18 |
2025 |
Royal Challengers Bengaluru |
Punjab Kings |
Ahmedabad |
