Virat Kohli once again displayed his mastery in a run chase, steering Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a crucial seven-wicket win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL 2025 season. Playing at an away venue, Kohli remained unbeaten on 73 off 54 balls, guiding his team to chase down a target of 158 and claim their fifth consecutive away win. The seasoned batsman formed a vital 103-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal (61) that broke the back of PBKS' bowling attack, bringing RCB to third place on the points table with 10 points from five wins.
This victory came less than 48 hours after RCB had suffered a defeat at the hands of the same opponents. Kohli’s ability to anchor the innings while others played around him once again proved pivotal for the side. During the post-match presentation, Kohli emphasized that this strategy is proving effective. “I thought Dev made a difference today; this award should go to him. I can accelerate, but I want to understand the strengths of other players. Holding one end up at the moment, that's working for us,” Kohli said.
Kohli, who now boasts 8,326 IPL runs, including 322 runs from eight matches this season, revealed the logic behind his new approach. "We've set ourselves up nicely. Dev can play around me, maybe Rajat can play around me. There's always a temptation to keep going the same way. But we know in a run chase in T20 cricket, one partnership is enough. If need be, I can accelerate,” he added. He further stressed the importance of this win. “It was a very important game for us. When you go from 8 to 10 points, it makes a massive difference. We have played some amazing cricket away from home. The mindset has to be to get two points in every game,” Kohli remarked.
The former RCB captain credited the franchise’s auction strategy for their improved performance this season. “A very good auction for us. We got the team we wanted. The owners knew exactly whom they wanted. It's coming together nicely. That was missing in all the other seasons. You can see that intensity and feistiness,” he said. RCB's current skipper Rajat Patidar, who had a low outing with just 12 runs in the match, praised the top-order duo for executing the team's plan to perfection. “All credit goes to the bowlers. Dev and Kohli, the way they executed their plans was beautiful. It was a simple message for the bowlers to bowl a tight line. Everyone has put in their efforts. First of all, I have to win the toss over there (at home)! Whatever errors we have done, we'll try to rectify,” Patidar said.
Devdutt Padikkal, who played a crucial supporting role in the chase, said batting with Kohli gives him great confidence. “There's a lot of hard work that has gone in. You get that confidence when you're batting with Kohli. It makes your job very easy. Playing for my home state and city is very special,” he said. “There’s a lot of confidence in the side. Everyone’s getting runs. We have not batted in our home conditions yet. But hopefully we can come up with a plan when we do,” Padikkal added.
On the other side, PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer expressed his disappointment over his team’s inability to convert promising starts into match-winning totals. He noted that the pitch at their home venue seemed to be slowing down with each game, affecting their batting plans. “If you see the majority of the batsmen, they love to go from ball one. We are not able to capitalise on the starts we are getting. The wicket is getting slower and slower,” Iyer said.
He acknowledged that the team’s middle-order needed to step up. “Even in the middle phase, we thought we could take on the bowlers. Credit to Virat and the boys. We keep talking about adapting to the wicket. Few of the other middle-order batsmen need to step up; need to take the bull by the horns,” he commented. Despite his own struggles with form, Iyer said he is mentally in a good space. “I'm in a great mind space. Just that I need to cross 10 runs. I just need to be free-flowing as well. We've got six days of break, so it's important we go back to the drawing board. It's important to assess our body as well.”
With the season heating up, the form of players like Kohli and Padikkal is proving to be the difference for RCB. Their next home game will be a test of whether the team can translate its away success into home dominance, especially with the playoffs race intensifying. For PBKS, the upcoming break might be just the reset they need to regroup and re-strategize.
