Royal Challengers Bengaluru clinched the IPL title on Tuesday for the first time in 18 years.
The wait is over! Bengaluru is ecstatic, and why wouldn’t they be? The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have done what they wished, prayed, and hoped for the past 18 years. Virat Kohli finally gets to have his hands on the coveted trophy. The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 champions edged past the defiant Punjab Kings to lift their maiden title in Ahmedabad.
As the celebrations galore amidst the victory parade to the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru, here are the three tactical moves by the franchise which gave them an edge to etch their name on the silverware.
RCB retained Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, and Yash Dayal ahead of the auctions for this season. But acquiring a worthy captain like Shreyas Iyer or Rishabh Pant was never in their plans. Instead, they trusted Patidar with the job on the back of his past performances. In his 15 innings in the 2024 season, the now skipper struck at 177.13, leaving a lasting impression of his batting arsenal. Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, and Liam Livingstone were some of the top buys for the franchise this year.
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Openers Virat Kohli and Phil Salt came out intending to play an aggressive brand of cricket in the powerplay. RCB’s dashing opening pair ended the season with 318 runs each in the powerplay overs. Phil Salt was the main aggressor with a strike rate of 174.72 in the first six overs. To shed some perspective, both Kohli and Salt ended the campaign with the joint-fifth most runs in the powerplay by any batter.
Defensive bowling was a hole in the franchise’s castle, which needed to be addressed. And so, they targeted to acquire bowlers like Josh Hazlewood and Krunal Pandya who could bowl defensive lines wonderfully. Cut to the end of the season, their economy at the death (overs 17-20) was just 10.5, the second-best in the tournament’s 18th edition. It doesn’t end here. RCB’s balls per wicket ratio for pacers was just 16.7 – the second best in this edition.
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