18 years, one trophy, endless emotions: How RCB became IPL champions

And so, after pipping Punjab Kings by six runs in front of over 91,000 spectators at the world’s largest cricket stadium, Royal Challengers Bengaluru shed the tag of being the IPL’s ‘nearly men’. The franchise had got to three finals before this – in 2009, 2011 and 2016 – and come up short each time. 

Virat Kohli had been there on each occasion. He has, after all, not played for any other IPL franchise and has long ago pledged never to represent another one. After 17 seasons of disappointment, Kohli and his RCB became IPL winners for the first time and the emotions were palpable.

Moments before the last ball of the IPL 2025 final was bowled – the over began with PBKS needing 29 runs – Kohli was seen wiping tears from his eyes. AB de Villiers, one third of RCB’s ‘Galactico era’ had been standing boundary side and chatting with Kohli for a while. The RCB dugout sensed the historic moment, and you could see the vibe. Krunal Pandya, whose magical spell of 2/17 was game-changing, had already clasped his palms and looked to the sky. Other RCB fielders were tingling with anticipation. 

When the match was sealed, RCB got together and celebrated like never before. For franchise that has been poorly mismanaged over the years, the 2025 IPL season was redemption, and then some. 

To understand the magnitude of this win is to unravel the past 17 seasons. During the aforementioned ‘Galatico era’ the franchise won itself countless fans, but the glaring issue was that to fit in Kohli, de Villiers and Chris Gayle into the same 11 meant that RCB had to consistently field weak bowling attacks. And each franchise that has won the IPL knows that to win trophies you need very good bowlers.

So ahead of this season, RCB’s management acquired Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma, among bit-piece players. Is it a coincidence that RCB got to their first IPL final in nine years, and then subsequently won the title for the first time, by discarding their batting heavy approach? 

Not at all. Yes, the biggest superstar Kohli remained, but a much more balance squad and bowlers like Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar and Krunal made the difference. For too long had RCB made questionable decisions at the auctions, which left you looking at their squad and wondering how they could reach the playoffs. 

Hazlewood, despite missing a few matches, finished third on the overall bowling table with22 wickets in 12 appearances. His hand in RCB’s success is unmistakable, with several clutch performances, topped by his 3/22 in Qualifier 1 versus PBKS. This is Pandya’s most successful season with the ball, taking 17 wickets at an economy rate of 8.23 with two Player-of-the-Match awards, including in Tuesday’s final in Ahmedabad. 

Bhuvneshwar also claimed 17 wickets for RCB, and despite a couple poor games the wily veteran was dependable at the back end of innings. Sample his third over in the final – the 17th of the PBKS innings – in which he took out Nehal Wadhera and Marcus Stoinis in the span of three deliveries. Clutch performance? Check. 

As backup bowlers, if only in terms of wickets, Yash Dayal and Suyash cannot be undermined. Dayal has had his share of tough days as an IPL bowler, but this year for RCB he made himself accountable with 13 wickets from 15 games. His last over during a league match against Chennai Super Kings on a flat track with due a big factor was match-winning and taking 1/18 from three overs in the final was another nerveless performance from the left-arm pacer. 

Suyash, the wristspinner offloaded by last year’s winners Kolkata Knight Riders, played 14 matches as an Impact Player and took eight wickets, had his moments too. When the season began, it was not likely that the 22-year-old would get as many games, but the RCB think tank backed him. His first nine matches yielded just four wickets a very high average of 69.75, but Suyash was persisted with and eventually the big performance arrived.

In Qualifier 1, Suyash started his outing with two wickets in one over and finished as Player of the Match for taking 3/17 as RCB bowled out PBKS for 101 in 14.1 overs.

Getting such fringe players into the 12 and then backing them paid dividends for RCB. It marked a departure from past seasons, and fans of the franchise will hope that the template is repeated. 

A new chapter in RCB’s history has begun. Kohli finished as the third most successful batsman this season with 657 and his eight fifties all came in victories. Phil Salt topped 400 runs and eased the burden on Kohli with his strong starts inside the Powerplay. Devdutt Padikkal, before injury ended his season, injected momentum at one-down with 247 runs at a strike-rate of over 150. The new skipper Rajat Patidar and wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma had overall underwhelming seasons but did chip in with enough cameos to suggest this batting unit can serve RCB well for a few more seasons.

But the winning formula, make no mistake, was in getting together a balanced bowling attack. And that, more than anything, is what could define RCB’s legacy from 2026 onwards.