RCB will take on PBKS in the final of IPL 2025 on Tuesday.
Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin believes that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have all it takes to win their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title. Royal Challengers Bengaluru are set to take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final of IPL 2025 in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, with both teams chasing their maiden IPL title.
RCB have entered the IPL final thrice before this (2009, 2011 and 2016) whereas PBKS have made the final just once (2014). The Rajat Patidar-led side had beaten Shreyas Iyer and Co by eight wickets in Qualifier 1 last week.
“I can’t help but feel that RCB has this in the bag. Look at what has happened. Look at their momentum and tempo, I am a complete cricket buff. But I cannot help but look at science, as cricketers, you also get superstitious. You have to run after the trend,” Ashwin said on Ash Ki Baat, which is his YouTube channel.
“If you look at what has happened, every team that has gone against has eventually turned into a favour for them,” he added.
Josh Hazlewood has been the most impressive bowler for Royal Challengers Bengaluru with 21 wickets. In Qualifier 1, the Australia speedster returned with figures of 3/21.
During the league stage, RCB suffered a 42-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), but bounced back with a six-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Jitesh Sharma (85*) was the standout performer for RCB as they chased down 228 against LSG with eight balls to spare.
“First, people were saying RCB’s momentum was broken because of the 20-day break. They lost against SunRisers Hyderabad. Look at how they bounced back in the LSG game. Jitesh Sharma scoring those runs was a massive momentum shift,” the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player opined.
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“Hazlewood was waiting. RCB were bleeding runs when he was sitting out. I kind of feel the tide of luck is running with RCB,” added the 38-year-old.
Both Punjab Kings (First place) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Second place) finished with 19 points from 14 matches with only the Net Run Rate (NRR) separating the two sides. Punjab Kings had an NRR of +0.372 whereas Royal Challengers Bengaluru had an NRR of +0.301. After losing to RCB in Qualifier 1, Punjab Kings went on to beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by five wickets in Qualifier 2.
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