On June 3, RCB shall be looking to end a title drought that has plagued them since 2008. They will be playing their fourth IPL final and their opponents could be GT, MI or PBKS. They crushed PBKS in Qualifier 1 by eight wickets.
PBKS will now play the winner of the Eliminator between GT and MI in Qualifier 2.
Kohli’s Quest
One man who will want the trophy more than anything. The man has all the major records to his name in the IPL but the trophy is missing. He has spent all 18 seasons with RCB and maybe this is the moment of truth for him. But for , there is another challenge that awaits him in the final.
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Orange Cap Race
is currently in fifth position on the list of top run-getters in IPL 2025. He recently became the first to score at least 600 runs in five seasons. He has 602 in this edition and is in contention for the Orange Cap. Should Kohli win this year’s Orange Cap, he will join David Warner in an exclusive club. Warner till date is the only player to win the Orange Cap three times. He did it in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Kohli won it in 2016 and 2024.
But it is easier said than done. Three of the four batters above him will be playing the Eliminator. At least one if not two of them will play Qualifier 2. If he’s lucky, none of them will play the final or at least one if not two will. Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill face off with Suryakumar Yadav in the Eliminator. Will we see any of them in the final? The other batter in the top five is Mitchell Marsh whose team did not make it to the Playoffs.
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Aiming for Glory
So fate is not in his hands alone. He has to, at the very least, make 66 runs in the final and hope Sai, Gill and Suryakumar don’t score too many. If none of them make it to the final, it makes his job easier. Kohli also needs 98 to score 700 runs in a third season which shall take him to the history books. Of course, all this is secondary to helping RCB win a maiden IPL title. Kohli was part of the sides that lost the finals in 2009, 2011 and 2016. He knows the pain of missing out on glory. Now is the time for him to make it count.
A Man of Records
Kohli has the IPL records for most runs, 100s, 50s, 50-plus scores, 600 runs in a season, runs as captain, runs for one team and matches for one team. How many more records can the 36-year-old pile up? He is hungry for runs and loves to amass big scores. RCB shall hope he does just that in the final. Will we see Kohli achieve individual glory and RCB lift the IPL title on June 3? Let’s wait and watch!