You wouldn’t want to be in that camp, but one of these teams will receive a reward that has been out of reach for seventeen years. RCB vs. PBKS
Overall: The dissolution of the holy trinity RCB vs. PBKS
The IPL trophy is engraved wit the names of seven teams. One of them is no longer in existence. When the league first started, two weren’t included.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have consistently been in the IPL. Between them, they have advanced to four finals, but neither has taken home the championship.
On social media, RCB, PBKS, and Delhi Capitals (DC), another trophy-less original team, are now referred to as the IPL’s Holy Trinity. Although there is some mockery in the moniker, it has grown softer and more affectionate over time, and even supporters of the three clubs use it with a sense of humor and camaraderie with their fellow victims.
On social media
The trinity will no longer be a trinity on Tuesday night. On their eighteenth try, one of RCB and PBKS will have finally won the IPL. You wouldn’t want to be in that camp, to be honest.
A PBKS fan would see it as just another preseason reset—they’ve had too many to count—and an unimpressive conclusion to a campaign that had all the elements of a thrilling sports movie: a coach who made the extra effort to bring in a captain with a point to prove, the two of them paving the way for a group of unheralded, uncapped local players to rise to the top, giving hope to a team that had only known misery up until that point.
A fourth loss in a fourth final would mean that all the hope of a new approach—a club that at last achieved the ideal balance between bat and ball, between top-order flare and batting depth, and between superstars and support cast—would come to nothing.
Above all, it would be another setback for Virat Kohli, who has put together another season of unrelenting scoring—a record eighth with 500 or more runs—at the end of an incredible 12 months that has included both a bittersweet Test retirement and victories in the Champions Trophy and T20 World Cup. RCB vs. PBKS Surely, Destiny cannot be arranging for the man with 18 on his back to go his 18th IPL season without a trophy.
One team will fail at the final stage of the quest, while two teams are tantalizingly close to discovering the fulfillment that has eluded them for 17 years. An IPL final rarely promises both happiness and heartache at the same time.
Rajat Patidar and Yuzvendra Chahal are in the spotlight.
Because RCB’s batting strategy throughout IPL 2025 has mirrored that of the skipper who took over at the beginning of the season, Rajat Patidar’s winning six against PBKS in Qualifier 1 was a symbolic moment for the team.
With Player-of-the-Match performances, he also set the tone early on, helping RCB defeat the Mumbai Indians at Mumbai for the first time in ten years and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk for the first time in seventeen years. However, since then, his output has slowed, and his season total of 286 runs at an average of 23.83 and a strike rate of 142.28 doesn’t fully reflect his influence.
He won’t let the dip stop him from playing his shots, either, and that’s exactly how RCB may have to bat against the formidable PBKS lineup in Ahmedabad, which has been one of the most productive stadiums this season.
Technically, Yuzvendra Chahal has only won the IPL once, having participated in one game for MI during their 2013 championship run. RCB vs. PBKS However, he won’t feel like he won because he lost both of his prior final appearances with the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the RCB. He will face RCB, with whom he played for eight seasons, on Tuesday.
Despite missing PBKS’s loss to RCB in Qualifier 1 due to a hand injury, he contributed to game-winning plays against his two previous teams. After a wild start to a chase of 220 runs, Chahal’s skill in the middle overs helped slow RR down in his final game before the injury break.
PBKS won by 10 runs
Then, after his recovery, he defeated MI in Qualifier 2 by taking the crucial wicket of Suryakumar Yadav. Can Chahal do it again in the season’s most important match? Chahal has already wounded RCB already this season, taking 2 for 11 in a low-scoring, rain-shortened match in Bengaluru.
Team updates and probable starting lineups: Will David play?
Tim David is the only significant injury concern before the final because he missed RCB’s previous two games due to a hamstring ailment. He will probably replace Liam Livingstone in their lineup as soon as he is well.
Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarwal, Rajat Patidar, Tim David, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, and Suyash Sharma are the potential members of Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
PBKS is probably going to continue with the same lineup two days after defeating MI in Qualifier 2 on the same field. Chahal bowled his entire allotment in the match against MI, although PBKS bowling coach James Hopes disclosed following the match that he had not been fully fit. RCB vs. PBKS may use Harpreet Brar or only one spinner if Chahal’s hand prevents him from playing in the final.
One Priyansh Arya, two Prabhsimran Singh, three Josh Inglis (week), four Shreyas Iyer (capt), five Nehal Wadhera, six Shashank Singh, seven Marcus Stoinis, eight Azmatullah Omarzai, nine Vijaykumar Vyshak, ten Kyle Jamieson, eleven Arshdeep Singh, and twelve Yuzvendra Chahal/Harpreet Brar are the likely members of the Punjab Kings.
Despite having defeated PBKS twice in three encounters going into the match, RCB will be at a disadvantage because they haven’t played in Ahmedabad yet this season.
The final will take place on a mixed-soil (red and black) field in the center of the square, where PBKS defeated Gujarat Titans (GT) to start the season.
The start of Qualifier 2 was delayed by a two-hour period of unusual rain. Forecasts indicate that there is a slim risk of rain on the day of the final. In the event that the final is not finished by Tuesday, a backup day is scheduled.
Important data and strategic advice: The Hazlewood danger
To deprive Prasidh Krishna of the Purple Cap, Josh Hazlewood (21 wickets) must get five-for. Even while it might not occur, Hazlewood might still have a significant influence on the outcome.
In three matches against PBKS so far this season, he has already claimed six wickets and removed Josh Inglis and Shreyas Iyer twice apiece. He has an incredible T20 record against Iyer, giving up four wickets and 11 runs in 22 deliveries.
The difference is even more pronounced against PBKS (five wickets at 7.40 and an economy rate of 5.84 against RHBs; no wickets and an economy rate of 7.09 against LHBs).
Also Read – MI Vs PBKS Arya-Inglis duo take PBKS to Qualifier 1
Throughout the 2025 Indian Premier League, Suyash Sharma has shown a clear preference for bowling to right-hand batters (average of 31.57, economy rate of 7.80) over left-hand batters (193.00, 9.81). The fact that PBKS’ sole middle-order left-hander, Nehal Wadhera, whacked Suyash for 21 runs in 12 balls during their lone victory over RCB this season is no accident. He fell for low scores in the other two meetings, across which Suyash took a combined 5 for 43 in seven overs.
Even though Kohli has relaxed his general T20 batting strategy, he still has a propensity to slow down in the middle overs, especially just after the powerplay. Kohli’s strike rate of 109.61 is the third-lowest among the 28 hitters who have faced at least 50 balls in overs 7-10 in the 2025 Indian Premier League, marginally above that of Ajinkya Rahane (102.97) and KL Rahul (107.31). The game’s flow may depend on Kohli’s partners at the crease in the early middle overs and PBKS’ selection of bowlers during that time if he survives the powerplay.
