New Delhi: The Indian Premier League is all set to get a new first-time champion this evening as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru lock horns with the Punjab Kings in the final clash in Ahmedabad. Neither of the teams has lifted the trophy yet.
The IPL 2025 marks the RCB’s fourth appearance in an IPL final, having previously finished as runners-up in 2009 (against the Deccan Chargers), 2011 (against the Chennai Super Kings) and 2016 (the Sunrisers Hyderabad).
The Punjab Kings have played just one IPL final and that was in 2014 when they lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). It was also the only time the franchise made it to the playoffs.
The Punjab Kings did not have a remarkable season after that as they often finished among the bottom placed teams in the points table. Their best finish since 2014 was at the fifth spot in 2017, with Glenn Maxwell serving as the skipper and Virender Sehwag as the head coach.
Of the eight founding franchises, the PBKS (earlier the Kings XI Punjab), the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Delhi Capitals (previously Delhi Daredevils) are yet to lift the IPL trophy. But this will change tonight in Ahmedabad, when the tournament is assured of its new first-time champions, since 2022, when the Gujarat Titans emerged victorious in their debut year.
This year, both Punjab and Bengaluru had a dominating performance in the league stages. They finished at number 1 and 2 on the points table respectively, with nine wins, four defeats and one no-result each in the 14 games played.
There was a nominal difference in their net run rate too, with the PBKS having just +0.071 points ahead of the RCB, which made them finish at the top of the table. Head to head in this season, the PBKS had beaten the RCB in Bengaluru, while the Rajat Patidar-led side won the match in Mullanpur.
The last time they faced each other, 29 May in the Qualifier 1 at Mullanpur, the RCB dismissed PBKS for 101 and won with 10 overs to spare, booking their place in the final.
The PBKS played the Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2, beating them by 5 wickets with six balls remaining to qualify for the final.
Patidar, who is leading an IPL team for the first time, is pitted against the experienced skipper Shreyas Iyer, who is leading the PBKS after making the KKR champions in the last edition.
Iyer is the first IPL player to lead three different teams to the finals. In 2020, he took Delhi Capitals to the final.
He is in full form with the bat as well. In the Qualifier 2 against MI, he played an 87-run knock off 41 balls. In the 16 matches in total, Iyer has piled up 603 runs at a strike rate of 175.80.
On the other hand, Patidar—in the 14 matches he played—has collected only 286 runs at a strike rate of 142.29.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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