Virat Kohli and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru have finally snagged the IPL Trophy after an 18-season wait. Kohli has been with RCB since the first season in 2008, but they’ve never been able to clinch that title until last year. RCB has been to the finals three times—in 2009, 2011, and 2016—but lost each time. The long wait ended when RCB defeated Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 final in Ahmedabad.
Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag likened Kohli’s pursuit of his first IPL title to Sachin Tendulkar’s long chase for an ODI World Cup. Sachin debuted in 1989 and had to wait over 21 years to finally get that world title for India. India first won the ODI World Cup in 1983 and added another in 2011. Sehwag pointed out, Kohli’s wait was only 18 years, while Sachin waited from 1989 to 2011. So, Kohli’s wait was shorter, and Sachin never lost hope. He was determined to exit with a World Cup in hand.
Sehwag suggested that Kohli could choose to retire from the IPL now that he has his championship. It’s the same for Virat. He can relax now and decide to stop playing whenever he wants. Players play to win trophies. Money comes and goes, but winning isn’t easy. Even with his wait over, Kohli has had a strong impact on their campaign, Sehwag said.
In the IPL 2025 final, RCB won against PBKS by just 6 runs. PBKS chose to bowl first and limited RCB to 190 for 9, thanks to Arshdeep Singh’s 3 for 40 and Kyle Jamieson’s 3 for 48. Kohli was the top scorer for RCB with 43 runs off 35 balls, but they struggled to build momentum and kept losing wickets.
In response, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2 for 38) and Krunal Pandya (2 for 17) put on impressive performances to restrict PBKS to 184 for 7 in their 20 overs. Shashank Singh made a strong effort, scoring 61 not out off 30 balls, but it wasn’t enough.