🏏IPL 2025 - Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers, Final, N M Stadium🏏

🏏IPL 2025 - Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers, Final, N M Stadium🏏

Royal Challengers Bengaluru will face Punjab Kings in the historic IPL 2025 final on June 3. The match, featuring two teams with no trophy yet, will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. It will start at 7:30 PM.

The 18-year curse of not having an IPL trophy will end for one of these teams. The big question is: for which team?

However, RCB have an edge this year. Out of 3 encounters, they have won 2, not to forget the powerful dominance in Qualifier 1.

According to Grok, Royal Challengers Bengaluru are likely to win by a narrow margin, ending their 18-year trophy drought

“If PBKS bat first and post 180+, their bowling, led by Arshdeep and Chahal, could make it competitive, but RCB’s form and matchup advantages give them the edge,” says the AI tool.

Google Gemini predicts Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings to lift the trophy.

“Punjab Kings will win the IPL 2025 trophy. It will be a tight contest, but PBKS's fighting spirit and Shreyas Iyer's leadership in high-pressure situations might just tip the scales in their favour to break their 18-year wait,” it predicts.

Shreyas Iyer and Rajat Patidar are like fire and water - one thrives on aggression, the other oozes calm. Yet both are remarkably effective as leaders, leading the two best teams of the season. IPL 18 couldn't have asked for a more fitting showdown than a Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru face-off in its grand finale.

On the eve of the match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Iyer, true to himself, ratcheted up the rhetoric. He spoke of 'fight,' 'war,' and 'taking the bull by the horns.' Patidar, by contrast, sought to play down the build-up with a calm and restrained demeanour. He seemed to think of 100 words, settle on 20, and ultimately speak just 12.

[Tag and Logo credit to Wildestdreams]

"See, when you are on the field, it's all about rivalry," Iyer, fresh from a breathtaking knock in the semifinal, thundered on the eve of the final. "It's not about comfort at all. When you step on to the field, you are at a war. And you fight to win.

"So, I will put in everything. And I will give in everything to see to it that my team wins." Patidar responded stating, "If I say (talk) about Punjab, I think they are playing a tremendous amount of cricket in this league. And the way they are playing, I think it will be a challenge for us in the next game." Possibly the mildest take on the final.

Amped up rhetoric - or the lack of it - aside, the last encounter between these two sides was a one-sided affair, with RCB demolishing PBKS by eight wickets to book their place in the final. Punjab had to take a detour via Qualifier 2 to reach there. Now, there may be a case of Punjab holding the edge, propelled by the momentum of an imperious five-wicket win over the Mumbai Indians - especially after Iyer's sublime batting on Sunday night.

Punjab often play with close to six uncapped players - two in the beginning (Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya), two in the middle (Shashank Singh and Nehal Wadhera) and two more in the end (Vijaykumar Vyshak and Harpreet Brar - in place of Yuzvendra Chahal). It's a tribute to the leadership of Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting that they managed to inspire a bunch of unheralded players to give their best. How these six handle the RCB bowlers (Josh Hazlewood and Suyash Sharma) and batters (Virat Kohli and Phil Salt) could determine the outcome of the final.

On the other hand, RCB may not openly admit it, but the Kohli angle is set to dominate the final. His wait for an IPL trophy has stretched over 18 years, and this might just be his best chance to finally add the elusive title to his collection. Those close to him say he is desirous, not desperate, for the IPL glory. Yet Kohli - the RCB talisman and arguably the league's biggest star - has never hidden how deeply he yearns for it, nor how much he regrets the missed opportunities, especially in 2016, the last time RCB had reached the final.

Will he finally end the trophy drought, or will the wait continue? That is the central point of the IPL 18 final narrative but the biggest of all is that the IPL will have new winners.

When: Tuesday, June 3 at 7:30 PM IST

Where: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

What to expect: The centre wicket of the colossal Narendra Modi Stadium will be used for the final, ensuring equal dimensions on both sides of the strip. It is a mixed-soil pitch, and the last time it was used - for the GT vs PBKS clash on March 25 - it yielded over 470 runs. Barring any unexpected rain, there's little reason to believe Tuesday's script will be any different.

Head-to-Head: It is even-stevens between the two sides, with the head-to-head record locked at 18 wins each. At the Narendra Modi Stadium, PBKS have beaten RCB in the one game they've played against each other here. However, RCB hold a clear recent advantage, having beaten PBKS in five of their last six encounters since 2023.

Teams Watch

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Injuries/Unavailability: There is uncertainty over the availability of Tim David but rest of the players are available for the match.

Tactics & Match-ups: Virat Kohli has an average of 36 (1116 from 35 games) against PBKS but in the recent times, he has had stupendous success, averaging 62.5 runs (375 runs from eight games). In bowling, Josh Hazlewood will be the thorn in the PBKS flesh, having taken 12 wickets in five play-off games. A truly big match player.

Probable XII: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Mayank Agarwal, Rajat Patidar (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma

Punjab Kings

Injuries/Unavailability: Yuzvendra Chahal is a doubtful starter but PBKS have a good back-up in Harpreet Brat. Rest of the Punjab players are available.

Tactics & Match-ups: Punjab's young openers, Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya - otherwise one of the breakout combinations of the season - have failed in their last two outings. The team will hope the law of averages works in their favour, and the duo fires when it matters most. Shreyas Iyer, meanwhile, has played two commanding unbeaten innings (97* and 87*) at this venue this season. PBKS will be counting on their captain to rise to the occasion, one final time.

Probable XII: Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kyle Jamieson, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar/Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak

Did you know?

- Arshdeep's form has nosedived after the break. He has gone wicketless in four of his last five outings. His record vs RCB (eight wickets from 10 games) and at the venue (three wickets from four games) don't make a great reading either

- Rajat Patidar had a flying start to the season, but couldn't quite build on thereafter - 161 runs in the first four games and then 125 in the next nine innings

- Shreyas Iyer has been dismissed four times in six IPL innings by Josh Hazlewood and has scored only 11 off 22 against the Aussie pacer

This is just the second time in these 15 years that neither of the two IPL finalists have won a trophy previously. The last instance was 2016 (RCB vs SRH)

What they said

I would just like to say that we are on a different wicket right now. And definitely they have been bowling very well throughout. It's important to adapt as quickly as possible. And see to it that you are up for the challenge. And take the bulls by the horns - PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer on RCB's bowling attack

I have always tried to create a good environment for every player, who has come from a domestic background or international experience... they both feel the same - RCB skipper Rajat Patidar on his captaincy

After more than two months, the prestigious IPL 2025 is all set to conclude with a blockbuster final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, June 03.

RCB managed to finish second on the points table, after registering nine wins and four losses from 14 games. They went on to beat Punjab Kings by eight wickets in a one-sided Qualifier 1 face-off. After dismissing the side for a mere 101 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, the Rajat Patidar-led side raced to victory with relative ease and 60 balls to spare.

After the debacle in Qualifier 1, the Shreyas Iyer-led side had to take the longer journey to the finals. They faced five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in Qualifier 2 on Sunday. After being hammered for 203/6 in their 20 overs, Iyer played a captain's innings of 87*, which pushed the side over the line and qualified for the finals after 11 years. Notably, with this win, PBKS pulled off the first-ever successful 200-plus run-chase against MI in IPL history.

Narendra Modi Stadium Pitch Report

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is expected to be a batting-friendly surface. Six of the eight games here in IPL 2025 have been won by teams batting first, though just like the previous game, dew is likely to kick in, which will favour the chasing side. The captain who wins the toss should opt to bowl first.

Probable Best Batter of the Match: Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)

After registering six consecutive 40-plus scores, Virat Kohli scored a 12-ball 12 in Qualifier 1 and didn't look anywhere near his fluent best. However, the star batter is known for playing an important knock on the biggest of occasions. If he gets going, PBKS bowlers will be in a tough position. Kohli is currently the fifth-highest run-getter in IPL 2025, having amassed 614 runs from 14 matches at an average of 55.81 and a strike rate of 146.53.

Probable Best Bowler of the Match: Kyle Jamieson

Kyle Jamieson. (Source: IPL)

Tall New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson can prove to be extremely dangerous with the ball against RCB. Came in as a replacement for his injured countryman Lockie Ferguson earlier in the season, Jamieson has picked up two wickets in the three matches played so far. In Qualifier 2 against the Mumbai Indians, he bowled a spell of 1/30 in his four overs, removing Tilak Varma. With the Ahmedabad pitch expected to have significant bounce, the Kiwi bowler will look to make the most of it and pick important wickets for his side.