It's the red wedding in the IPL with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) taking on the Punjab Kings in the final of the 2025 edition of the IPL. It has been a memorable season for both the teams, who have been chasing the elusive title for 18 years now and the wait will finally end for one of them on Tuesday in Ahmedabad. While RCB are well rested and rejuvenated with a four-day gap while the Punjab Kings will be playing their fourth game in nine days.
However, in T20 cricket and IPL, especially momentum is a big thing and the sensational run-chase less than 48 hours ago against a bowling attack like the Mumbai Indians will keep the Punjab Kings in a good stead. Skipper Shreyas Iyer had that stealy look in his eyes after playing one of the innings of the tournament and will have a point to prove after being released by the franchise despite winning the cup last year while there is Virat Kohli on the other side, who just has an IPL trophy eluding the exceptional cabinet.
Phil Salt was not to be seen in practice on the eve of the summit clash as the conjecture rose over his availability for the final with his partner expecting. If Salt isn't available, RCB have a readymade replacement in Tim Seifert to open alongside Virat Kohli. RCB also sweat over Tim David's injury, who has missed the last two games. On the other hand, Punjab Kings face the dilemma of bringing back Harpreet Brar but would they leave out Yuzvendra Chahal? This is a big call as leaving out Vijaykumar Vyshak won't make sense, especially with no Marco Jansen.
Who's it gonna be? It is the battle of equals but the result will mark the end of the holy trinity with the losing team and the Delhi Capitals remaining the last two sides without trophy for 18 seasons.
My Dream11 team for IPL 2025 Final, RCB vs PBKS
Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer, Josh Inglis (vc), Virat Kohli, Nehal Wadhera, Jitesh Sharma, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Kyle Jamieson, Josh Hazlewood
Probable Playing XIIs
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Tim Seifert/Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar, Mayank Agarawal, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (c), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Yuzvendra Chahal/Harpreet Brar, Kyle Jamieson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh