The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) lifted their first-ever IPL title by defeating the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final of the 2025 season by six runs at the Narendra Modi stadium. Despite giving a decent bowling performance and restricting RCB to a total of 190/9 in 20 overs, PBKS failed to achieve the target due to a disappointing display from their batters.
One of the PBKS batters, who underperformed during the match was 24-year-old Nehal Wadhera. The left-hander's poor knock of 15 runs from 18 deliveries only slowed down PBKS' pursuit of the target and ultimately lead to them finishing their 20 overs on 184/7.
Wadhera impressed for PBKS in IPL 2025
Wadhera had a good campaign overall, scoring 369 runs in 16 matches during the season. He scored two half-centuries and also maintained an impressive strike-rate of 145.84. Due to this, he was chosen in PBKS' playing XI for the final, however the pressure ended up getting to him.
The middle-order batter who was signed by the Punjab-based franchise for a fee of INR 4.2 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction, blamed himself for the side's defat in the final and stated that the team could have won if he had played better.
"I totally blame myself. If I had played better at that time, we could have definitely won. I won't blame the pitch because RCB scored 190 runs. I think I was just taking the game deep, and I believe in finishing games by taking it deep. I think this was one of those days when I couldn't finish the game. When I had to accelerate in all the tournaments, whenever I accelerated, I think it paid off except for the last game," Wadhera told Hindustan Times.
Though the batter did admit that he didn't have any regrets, he also accepted his mistake of not accelerating at the right time which saw him lose his wicket later on.
"Some days, it doesn't click, and I think it was the same day when it didn't happen. But I don't have any regrets that I was taking the game deep, and that situation was fine because the wickets were falling, but I think I could have accelerated a little more, which I have learnt and analysed. I will do that in the future and that will help me and the team," Wadhera added.
This was the left-hand batter's third season in IPL. He previously played for the Mumbai Indians in the 2023 and 2024 season, but never really became a standout performer of the team. However, Wadhera did impress quite a bit for the PBKS and was a regular in the side's playing XI throughout the season. It will be interesting to see how he performs in IPL 2026.