In the lead-up to the IPL 2025 final, former South African cricketer AB de Villiers has expressed strong support for his longtime Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) teammate, Virat Kohli. De Villiers, who shared a prolific partnership with Kohli during his playing days, believes that Kohli is poised to play a pivotal role in RCB's quest for their maiden IPL title.
De Villiers described Kohli as the "ultimate team man" and expressed confidence in his ability to deliver a match-winning performance in the final. He emphasized that Kohli's experience and leadership are invaluable assets for RCB, especially in high-pressure situations like the IPL final.
"I just saw a lot of focus in that guy (Virat). Typical kind of body language, that we so used to see. And what I love most about this is, he didn’t score runs today, but we still saw him right till the end, celebrating with the batters. The ultimate team man and he looks very, very focused to get this done this year with the guys. I'm very excited to watch him play, I've no doubt in my mind. He's going to play a bigger hand in the final," said de Villiers.
As RCB prepares to face their opponents in the IPL 2025 final, the backing of a legend like AB de Villiers adds to the anticipation and excitement surrounding the match. Fans and cricket enthusiasts alike will be eager to see if Kohli can lead RCB to a historic victory and fulfill the long-cherished dream of lifting the IPL trophy.
RCB gets one step closer to IPL 2025 trophy
RCB fans were overjoyed on Thursday evening after their team defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by eight wickets in Qualifier 1 at Mullanpur. With this win, RCB has reached the IPL final for the fourth time, and the first since 2016. However, they have never won the title in their previous three finals.
Kohli now has one more shot at glory having beebn associated with the franchise since the inaugural (2008) edition of the league. Bengaluru reached the finals in 2009, 2011 and 2016 but were beaten on all three occasions.
RCB chose to bowl first and put on a strong performance by quickly removing PBKS’s top batsmen. Punjab could only manage 101 runs in 14.1 overs, thanks to excellent bowling by Josh Hazlewood (3 wickets for 21 runs), Suyash Sharma (3/17), and Yash Dayal (2/26).
In the chase, RCB lost Virat Kohli (12) and Mayank Agarwal (19) early, but Phil Salt played a powerful innings, scoring 56 runs off just 27 balls. He was supported by captain Rajat Patidar (15 not out), and the team reached the target in just 10 overs with eight wickets remaining.
