"That's a dream of mine to know what it feels like to win an IPL trophy".
This was Virat Kohli, the RCB talisman after the RCB's women's side had won the Women's Premier League in 2024 following their win over Delhi Capitals. Kohli looked to 'double it up' in 2024, but despite a spirited comeback with six wins in a row before the dream was broken in the Eliminator defeat to the Rajasthan Royals.
He now stands one match away from fulfilling his dream in the big final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Cut to Shreyas Iyer. He is currently out of the T20I and Test teams. He has not been picked for the Test tour to England. He had parted ways with Kolkata Knight Riders last season after a 'lack of communication' and feeling that he was not getting the 'recognition' he wanted after winning the IPL title. Shreyas had to transform a new team in association with his old coach Ricky Ponting, with whom he played the IPL 2020 final for Delhi Capitals as skipper.
Shreyas has already created history by being the only captain to lead three different franchises to the final of the IPL. But if his PBKS lose to RCB, this record might remain mortal. What might not remain is if he does win an IPL title for PBKS, his second straight as a skipper and first for PBKS ever. If he does, he will be the first captain to win titles for two different IPL teams.
So, history awaits as the IPL title calls RCB and PBKS only for one to find the answer and win the title, while the other would have to start from scratch next season. No one wants to be on that end or even feel that.
This IPL final promises to bring joy to one team and heartbreak to the other.
RCB's new captain Rajat Patidar has led by example. In his injury-forced absence, the flaws were clear under Jitesh Sharma's captaincy. Under his leadership, RCB looked like a team to beat. He wants to win the IPL for the man who has been an inspiration for the team and many others - Virat Kohli. He was made the captain ahead of the 2025 season after RCB had parted ways with former skipper Faf du Plessis, who had led them to two playoffs in three seasons sans the title.
Patidar auditioned for the role with a captaincy in the domestic circuit. He led Madhya Pradesh to the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and eventually lost to the man who is the captain of Punjab Kings. Shreyas Iyer was the skipper of the Mumbai team that defeated MP in the final. The two are up against each other five months later, with a bigger prize up for grabs now.
Cool as they like, cool are they are. Both the captains have a sense of calmness. Patidar himself admits that he isn't the most expressive guy but he has his own methods of doing things and his methods have worked wonders till now. Shreyas epitomized calmness with his jaw-dropping 87-run knock against Mumbai in the Qualifier 2. The way with which he calmly led the chase and didn't celebrate after the five-wicket win, clearly told the mission was not done just yet. And Shreyas said just that after that win. I'm just staying in the moment right now, I want to cherish this moment, go out to the dressing room and celebrate with my team that we've reached the final. But I personally feel that the job is half done, so not going to think about the final that much," he said after the win.
Just like Shreyas, Kohli is looking to keep control of the emotions. While he jumped in the air following his team's league stage win over Lucknow Super Giants that assured them of a top-two spot, he remained relatively calm after Qualifier 1, gesturing 'one more match is left' for the dreams to turn into reality.
That dream could finally turn into a reality in a few hours time. After nearly two decades of trying and four hours of the match will finally decide who will get their hands on the IPL title. Will it be Patidar, Kohli and their RCB or will it be Shreyas and his PBKS? Kohli has a date with his dream and Shreyas is looking to set an immortal captaincy record as the IPL final calls and history beckons these two sides.
