Media365
NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) star batter Virat Kohli leapt in celebration and hugged Romario Shepherd after the pacer dismissed Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer for just 1. Iyer was caught behind by Jitesh Sharma off a short-of-a-length delivery outside off. Though the umpire didn’t raise his finger, Iyer walked immediately, acknowledging the faint outside edge. Jitesh was ready to review, but the PBKS captain’s honesty spared the referral.Earlier, RCB huffed and puffed their way to 190 for 9 in the IPL 2025 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. On a batting-friendly surface, the fourth-time finalists once again faltered on the big stage, unable to apply significant scoreboard pressure.While Kohli has long anchored innings with calculated composure, his approach backfired this time. He managed 43 off 35 balls, striking just three fours — two of which came after the ninth over — at a strike rate of 122.85, looking far too conservative in the high-stakes final.
RCB were relatively brisk in the powerplay, reaching 55/1, but their momentum stalled thereafter. Between overs 6 and 11, they mustered only 42 runs, with the batters largely rotating strike rather than pushing for big overs.Phil Salt gave RCB a fiery start, smashing a six and a four in the first over. However, in the next, he mistimed a shot off Kyle Jamieson, offering a skier that was safely pouched by Shreyas Iyer after covering over 10 paces back at mid-on.Salt’s dismissal proved to be a turning point, as RCB lost momentum. Mayank Agarwal (24), Rajat Patidar (26), and Liam Livingstone (25) all got starts but couldn’t convert them into impactful scores.Jamieson (3/48) was instrumental, mixing his lengths cleverly. After removing Salt, he returned in the 11th over to trap Patidar LBW with a superb slower yorker. His figures took a slight beating in the 17th over when Jitesh Sharma (24 off 10 balls) and Livingstone launched a counter-attack, collecting 23 runs off the over with three sixes between them. But Jamieson had the final say, trapping Livingstone leg-before with a full toss.Arshdeep Singh, who had an expensive start — conceding 37 in his first three overs — produced a brilliant final over. He dismissed Krunal Pandya (4), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1), and Romario Shepherd (17 off 9), who threatened to lift RCB past 200 with a six and a four late in the innings.
