With an eight-wicket victory over Punjab Kings in Qualifier 1 of the 2025 edition, Royal Challengers Bengaluru entered to their 4th Indian Premier League (IPL) final. Captain Rajat Patidar stated that the team only needs one more match to celebrate their victory with the team’s ardent supporters.

Suyash Sharma and Josh Hazlewood‘s three-fers at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium assisted RCB in dismissing PBKS for 101 in 14.1 overs. In precisely 10 overs, RCB would chase down the mark thanks to an undefeated 56 from Phil Salt, securing their place in the June 3 title match at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

During the post-match presentation ceremony, Rajat Patidar stated, “Let’s celebrate together after one more game. One day of not practicing won’t hurt you because we’ve had a lot of practice sessions during the competition. I constantly give thanks to the RCB supporters because we feel like we’re at home everywhere we go, not just in Chinnaswamy. Please continue to support us because we adore you”.

Everything went RCB’s way from the start on a surface with plenty of stitching and extra bounce. Leg-spinner Suyash and a returning Hazlewood took 3-17 and 3-21, respectively, to destroy the PBKS’ potent batting lineup and dismiss them for only 101 in 14.1 overs. The trio, who took four wickets between them to lay the groundwork for an overwhelming RCB victory, were also assisted by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, and Romario Shepherd.

With 10 overs remaining, RCB won the chase because to a brilliant display of stroke play by opener Phil Salt, who made his quickest half-century in the IPL 2025 at 23 balls and went undefeated at 56 off 27.

As Shreyas Iyer tried for a powerful hoick off Hazlewood and gave the keeper a thick edge behind, RCB’s too-hot-to-handle bowling made PBKS’ problems worse. With Josh Inglis caught at deep fine leg in the final over of the power play, the pacer struck once more, and PBKS ended the six-over period at 48/4.

As Shashank Singh was castled through the gate off a googly from Suyash, and Nehal Wadhera flattened his leg stump after chopping on off Dayal’s bowling, PBKS’ downhill procession continued unabated. Musheer Khan, an impact substitution, was trapped leg before wicket by Suyash after he swiped past him across the line. He was out of the game after just three balls.

Stoinis attempted to fight back, but Suyash put an end to his efforts by castleing him through the gate with a googly once more. PBKS reached the three-figure mark thanks to a boundary from Kyle Jamieson and fours and sixes from Azmatullah Omarzai off Suyash. Hazlewood completed his three-fer when Jitesh Sharma leaped full-stretch to his right and made an incredible grab.

Virat Kohli, who was chasing a meager 102, got off to a fast start by pulling Arshdeep Singh before looking at Jamieson for another boundary. Salt hammered Arshdeep for four and six, respectively, taking full advantage of the additional bounce. However, when Jamieson got a ball around the sixth stump to curve away from him and grab his outside edge, Kohli left in a wicket-maiden fourth over.

Jamieson beat Mayank Agarwal three times with the ball moving about before the batter reviewed for the fourth time and overturned the on-field out call. Through flaying and guiding off Omarzai for a brace of fours, Salt was able to ease RCB’s anxiety.

21 runs came from the last power-play over, which began with an on-drive from Agarwal, followed by Salt stroking a drive through cover before pulling and lofting Jamieson to select two fours and a six. Agarwal lofted and drove Musheer for six and four runs, respectively, after Salt cleared his front leg to bludgeon Harpreet Brar for six after RCB concluded their power-play at 61/1.

However, Musheer ended the 54-run partnership when Agarwal was caught at slip after getting a feather edge on the flick. However, Salt celebrated by cutting Brar for four as he strode forward to reach his fiftieth.

After skipper Rajat Patidar struck Musheer for four and then hit the winning runs with a spectacular slog-sweep to give his side a couple days break before playing in the crucial title match on June 3, RCB’s victory was all but certain.

“We simply couldn’t carry it out on the pitch. The bowlers cannot even be held accountable because it was a low total to defend. We need to improve our batting, particularly with this wicket. Every game we’ve played here has had some variation in bounce. We cannot provide such excuses since, at the end of the day, we are professionals who must act appropriately and fulfill their obligations”. The captain of PBKS, Shreyas Iyer, said, “We have lost the battle, but not the war.”

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings 101 all out in 14.1 overs (Marcus Stoinis 26, Prabhsimran Singh 18; Suyash Sharma 3-17, Josh Hazlewood 3-21) lost to
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 106/2 in 10 overs (Phil Salt 56 not out, Mayank Agarwal 19; Kyle Jamieson 1-27, Musheer Khan 1-27) by eight wickets