RCB's road to IPL 2025 final: How Royal Challengers Bengaluru became the first team to reach the summit clash

RCB's road to IPL 2025 final (BCCI Photo)

RCB's road to IPL 2025 final: Following a dominant performance against the Punjab Kings, who had taken the top spot in the league stage, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru advanced to the IPL 2025 final. RCB reached their fourth IPL final by defeating PBKS by eight wickets in Qualifier 1. This was the first time in nine years that RCB made it to the IPL final. In fact the last time RCB finished in the top 2 after the league stage was in 2016, which was nine years ago.

RCB enjoyed supreme form throughout season and made history by becoming the first IPL team to win every away game they were assigned during the league stage.

Former RCB captain Virat Kohli has contributed more than 600 runs, which feature eight half-centuries - the most by any batter this season. RCB never lost a match when Kohli reached fifty runs while they were chasing a total this season. Kohli has hit over 600 runs in a season for the fifth time in IPL 2025.

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Although Kohli's setting of the bar is nothing new in the sport, his teammates have been equally good. The squad has benefited greatly from the half-centuries scored by nine other batters this season, including Tim David, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Devdutt Padikkal, and skipper Patidar, to name a few.

Josh Hazlewood (21 wickets) is leading the pack among the bowlers. The leg-break bowler Suyash Sharma has taken eight wickets, while Krunal Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have each taken 15 wickets. Liam Livingstone, Romario Shepherd, and South African Lungi Ngidi have all contributed with the ball.

RCB have also changed the course of history by having nine different players earn Player of the Match this season, indicating collective contribution.

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IPL 2025 has been even better for RCB because they have defeated their bitter rivals in a way that has never been seen before. For the first time in IPL 2025, RCB defeated CSK both at home and away to complete the league double. The victory at the Chepauk was actually their first in 17 years. At the Wankhede, one of RCB's best days of the season occurred when Jitesh Sharma, Patidar, and Kohli shut out the Mumbai Indians to record the team's first victory at the venue in a decade. It took RCB six years to register their first win against KKR in Kolkata's Eden Gardens. A seven-year jinx was broken when RCB defeated the Delhi Capitals handily in Kohli's backyard in New Delhi.

In the last league match of the season, RCB once again proved their mettle by using their batting strength to overwhelm the Lucknow Super Giants, chasing down 228 with more than an over to spare. In addition to being the second-most successful chase of the season, it moved RCB up to second place in the standings.

RCB’s Road to the Final:

Match 1 – KKR vs RCB – RCB win by 7 wickets

Match 2 – CSK vs RCB – RCB win by 50 runs

Match 3 - RCB vs GT – GT won by 8 wickets

Match 4 – MI vs RCB – RCB won by 12 runs

Match 5 – RCB vs DC – DC won by 6 wickets

Match 6 – RR vs RCB – RCB won by 9 wickets

Match 7 – RCB vs PBKS – PBKS won by 5 wickets

Match 8 – PBKS vs RCB – RCB won by 7 wickets

Match 9 – RCB vs RR – RCB won by 11 runs

Match 10 – DC vs RCB – RCB won by 6 wickets

Match 11 – RCB vs CSK – RCB won by 2 runs

Match 12 – RCB vs KKR – washed out

Match 13 – RCB vs SRH – SRH won by 42 runs

Match 14 – LSG vs RCB – RCB won by 6 wickets

Qualifier 1 – PBKS vs RCB – RCB won by 8 wickets