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The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have had a sensational IPL 2025 campaign so far and it could become their best-ever season in the league if they manage to win the final that is set to take place at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad. Their opponent for the clash is yet to be decided but it will either be the Punjab Kings (PBKS) or the Mumbai Indians (MI). These two teams are set to lock horns in the second qualifier on June 1 and the winner will qualify for the final.
RCB qualified for their fourth IPL final with the victory over PBKS
RCB defeated PBKS by eight wickets in the first qualifier and secured a spot in the IPL final for the fourth time in their history. The Bengaluru-based franchise has quite a bad record in the finals as they haven't been able to win any of the three that they have played in so far. It will be interesting to see if they can finally break the cycle of final defeats with the match on June 3.
After qualifying for the penultimate match of the season, RCB batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik showered praise on skipper Rajat Patidar, who has lead the side to the final in his first season as captain. Karthik also labelled Patidar as the 'biggest eye-opener' and pointed out that the 32-year-old's behaviour didn't change at all even after he got appointed as the skipper.
“Rajat Patidar has been the biggest eye-opener for me in life. Because when people suddenly get a little bit of adulation, power, they tend to change. It’s normal. Their behavioural pattern, the way they kind of interact. Somewhere, something will show. But with Rajat Patidar, what a guy he is. For someone who is a captain of RCB, and today he calls the shots, he has been exactly the same that he was before becoming the captain, Rajat," Karthik said in the second episode of RCB’s Journey to the Finale, as quoted by News18.
Ahead of the beginning of the season, many had raised their doubts over Patidar becoming RCB's new captain despite the presence of a senior player like Virat Kohli in the team. However, Patidar has certainly proved all of his doubters wrong and on Tuesday, will have a chance of becoming the first RCB skipper to lift the IPL title.
Patidar has had an average season with the bat so far, scoring 286 runs in 14 matches. Though he has played a few important knocks, the opposing bowlers have managed to dismiss him cheaply on most occasions.
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