Shane Warne, Rohit Sharma, and Hardik Pandya are the only three men to lift the IPL trophy in their first season as captain. Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Rajat Patidar has a golden opportunity to etch his name for eternity in IPL history. The captain is hopeful of celebrating the maiden IPL title win with one of the most loyal fan groups on June 3.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Punjab Kings by 8 wickets in Chandigarh and advanced to the final of IPL 2025.
Patidar’s message to fans
Rajat Patidar was asked by Harsha Bhogle in the post-match presentation to send a message to the RCB fans, looking straight into the camera.
“First of all, I always thank the RCB fans, not only in Chinnaswamy (Bengaluru); wherever we go, we feel that is our home ground. The way they have been showing love and support over the years is incredible. Keep supporting us; we all love you. One more game, and let’s celebrate together,” said Patidar, who scored the winning runs against Punjab Kings in Qualifier 1.
RCB’s statement win against PBKS
RCB bowlers bundled out Punjab Kings for just 101 runs, the joint-third lowest total in the history of IPL playoff matches. The pace trio of Yash Dayal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and the incredible Josh Hazlewood set the tone from the word go. Yash Dayal accounted for the two left-handers, Priyansh Arya and Nehal Wadhera. Bhuvneshwar Kumar snared the wicket of Prabhsimran Singh in a fascinating cat-and-mouse game. However, it was Josh Hazlewood, the returning Australian, who delivered the telling blow of the match. He dismissed the PBKS captain, Shreyas Iyer, for the fourth time in six meetings in T20s. Hazlewood also removed the dangerous Josh Inglis, the player of the match from PBKS’ last league game win against Mumbai Indians. Punjab Kings never recovered from their perilous position of 50/5.
Leg spinner Suyash Sharma ran through the PBKS middle order, dismissing Shashank Singh, impact substitute Musheer Khan, and the top scorer of the innings, Marcus Stoinis. Suyash finished with figures of 3/17 from 3 overs.
Josh Hazlewood‘s 21st wicket of the season, a sensational catch by wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma to dismiss Azmatullah Omarzai, ended the miserable night for Punjab Kings with the bat.
Phil Salt’s thunderous 56 off just 27 balls catapulted RCB to the finishing line in just 10 overs. Virat Kohli had a rare failure with the bat. But it doesn’t matter. The heart and soul of RCB had done enough all these years. It’s time for the others to do it for him and for the loyal RCB fans. One more game and they will be in La La Land.
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