Delhi: The final match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 was played on 3 June at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. In this match, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 6 runs and won the IPL title for the first time. When the match was stuck in the final match and every ball seemed important, RCB captain Rajat Patidar handed the ball to Krunal Pandya. Even though there were many big names in this match, Krunal surprised everyone with his experience. He not only took two important wickets, but also gave just 17 runs in his four overs. This performance was on a wicket where the batsmen were getting a lot of help.
After the match, Krunal was voted ‘Player of the Series’. He said that when he had associated with RCB, he had said to win the trophy. Krunal said, “When he came to RCB, he said that he likes to win the trophy. After 3.5 months, that thing has been completed. This is my fourth IPL trophy in the last 10 years. Before the final, I also told Hardik (Pandya) on the phone that there will be 9 trophies in our house in 10 years.”
Krunal’s strategy for the final
Krunal told how he planned to bowl while sitting in the dugout. When RCB was batting first, he was talking to the batteries sitting outside. Then he understood that slow bowling can be more effective. He said, “This format needs courage to bowl slowly, because the scope of mistake is very low. But, I trusted myself and thought that if I change the speed, there would be more chances of getting wickets.”
Krunal first put pressure on Prabhasimran Singh and pressurized him. Then he also took a big wicket of Josh English, who hit 4 sixes in 23 balls. Prabhasimran was caught by Bhubaneswar, while English was caught by Liam Livingstone near the boundary.
Krunal further said, “My biggest strong side has been that I have always recognized the need for the opportunity. I obeyed inside myself and thought that if I want to take wickets, I would have to show courage. If I bowled fast, the batsmen would have more help. But there was a little benefit when changing the speed.”
