Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Director of Cricket Mo Bobat has shared that both him and the commentators thought that they side fell a couple of runs short while batting first in the final of IPL 2025 against Punjab Kings (PBKS). However, the side eventually went on to win the match thanks to a brilliant bowling display. The target of 191 proved to be too much for the Punjab-based franchise who fell six runs short and finished their 20 overs on 184/7.
While both Krunal Pandya and Yash Dayal bowled economic spells of 2/17 and 1/18 respectively, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Romario Shepherd may have been expensive, but picked up three important wickets between them.
Bobat remarked that though he felt that the side had fallen 10 runs short, their bowling attack helped them earn those runs back. He also revealed that some days after the final, him along with some RCB coaches including Dinesh Karthik had re-watched the match ball-by-ball.
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“If I’m honest, at half-time, I know some commentators thought we might have been 30 runs short. I thought we were about 10 runs short. I thought 200 was about right. But I thought we were one of the best bowling attacks in the competition, so we could earn those 10 runs back. I also thought chasing in a final had some pressure," Bobat told Cricbuzz.
“A couple of days later, DK and I and a couple of the coaches watched the final back because I wanted to re-watch it ball by ball. When I went back a bit more impartially, I felt a bit more comfortable in the second innings, feeling like we were in a good place. But when you’re in the game, you feel more nervous than that, of course you do," he added.
A memorable triumph for RCB
Meanwhile, the victory over PBKS in the final will be remembered by RCB and their fans for many many years to come. It was quite an emotional moment for both the team and their fans as the side had previously recorded defeats in the three finals that they had previously reached. This victory saw the franchise finally end their 18-year wait of winning their first-ever IPL trophy.