After 18 years of trying, one of Royal Challengers Bengaluru or Punjab Kings will finally get their hands on the IPL trophy when they meet in the 2025 final in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
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IPL final Tips
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru @ 4/5
- Virat Kohli player of the match @ 5/1
- Josh Hazlewood top RCB wicket-taker @ 2/1
RCB’s time has come
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru kicked off the 2025 IPL season with a win over champions Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens and they could end it with a maiden title in the bag ten weeks later.
So often the underachievers of the Indian Premier League, RCB have been a model of consistency throughout the 18th edition of cricket’s premier T20 franchise competition, winning nine of their 14 regular-season matches before turning in one of the most dominant play-off wins in IPL history last week.
Led by Australia quick bowler Josh Hazlewood, Bengaluru’s bowlers were ruthless in their Qualifier 1 win over the Punjab Kings, dismissing their opponents for just 101 before chasing down the target with 10 overs to spare.
That ensured a fast-track to the final on Tuesday, when they will again face Punjab after the Kings came out on top in a high-scoring thriller against the Mumbai Indians on Sunday.
Shreyas Iyer’s men are also chasing a first title at the Narendra Modi Stadium but they will have to end a run of dominance in this fixture by Bengaluru – RCB have won five of the pair’s last six matches – to realise that dream.
King Kohli’s crowning moment
Finals are when the true greats of sport come to the fore and the stage is set for Virat Kohli to show why he is revered as a cricketing legend.
An IPL title is the only thing missing from Kohli’s CV but the 36-year-old, who has been with RCB since the start, has been doing everything he can to right that wrong this season.
Kohli’s 614 runs have come at an average of 55.81 and he has passed fifty in eight of his 14 innings in this year’s competition.
His highest score this year (73 not out) came against the Kings and few would bet against King Kohli finally receiving an IPL coronation at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday.
Hazlewood can tear into Kings again
Australia pace ace Josh Hazlewood has been a talisman for RCB with the ball this season, taking 21 wickets at just 15.80 runs apiece.
Punjab, in particular, have failed to deal with Hazlewood’s nagging line and length, with the Aussie star taking 3/14 in the pair’s first meeting of the season and 3/21 in Bengaluru’s thumping Qualifier 1 win on Thursday.
Crucially, Hazlewood has taken more than one wicket in seven of his 11 appearances in this season’s competition, showing that when he gets on top of a side he rarely lets the opposition batting line-up off the hook.
Hazlewood is 2/1 favourite to be the Kings’ tormentor-in-chief in the final but that still looks worthy of interest given his excellence throughout the Royal Challengers’ run to the final.
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