Not Josh Hazlewood, RCB captain Rajat Patidar names the bowler he turns to when under pressure

The IPL 2025 season proved to incredible for both the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and their captain Rajat Patidar. Not only did the franchise lift their first-ever IPL title after beating the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final, but Patidar took the side to the triumph in his very first season as skipper.

Krunal Pandya gave a fantastic bowling performance against PBKS

Following the six-run win in the final held at the Narendra Modi stadium, Patidar reflected on the fantastic season that the side had and also showered praise on all-rounder Krunal Pandya, who bowled an economical four-over spell of 2/17 and was the catalyst to the Bengaluru-based franchise's victory in the penultimate match of their campaign.

"I think after the qualifier 1, the team believed it could win the IPL. At that time, we thought that we could do well this season. I think a 190 score was good on this track because it was a bit slow, and the way the bowlers executed their plans was tremendous to watch. Inspiring move to give Krunal Pandya the ball at that stage and he did a fabulous job. What a spell from him. 4 overs, 2 for 17. Of course, he is a wicket-taking bowler," Patidar said after the final.

Despite having the services of Josh Hazlewood, who was the side's top wicket-taker during the season with 22 scalps under his name, Patidar revealed that Krunal is the player that he always trusts with the ball when under pressure during a match.

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"Whenever I come under pressure, I look for KP. So, I had a lot of belief in him. With KP, I think Suyash also bowled really well throughout the season and all the bowlers, fast bowlers, Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar), Yash (Dayal), (Josh) Hazlewood. And the way Romario (Shepherd) came in and the way he gave 2-3 overs and that breakthrough, I think that was really special," Patidar added.

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Krunal may have had a poor season with the bat, scoring 109 runs in seven innings, however he did a commendable job with the ball and racked up a total of 17 wickets and also maintained a decent economy rate of 8.23. The 34-year-old won the fourth IPL title of his career on Tuesday. He previously lifted three trophies with the Mumbai Indians, but left the franchise and joined Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022.