IPL 2025 Final: Jamieson, Arshdeep shine as Punjab delivers disciplined bowling display

CHENNAI: The final of IPL 2025 had all the drama in the first innings, with Virat Kohli chasing his maiden IPL title, scoring 43, before Shreyas Iyer’s bowlers restricted Bengaluru to 190.

The first wicket of the IPL 2025 final came in the form of Phil Salt, who departed after scoring 16. A full-length delivery caught the toe-end of his bat, and Iyer ran 15 to 16 yards paddling backwards, eyes fixed on the ball, to complete an excellent catch and dismiss the opener. Salt had earlier hit a boundary off a similar delivery, but Kyle Jamieson got the better of him the second time around.

There was a bit of swing assisted by the breeze, and the pitch offered ample bounce as Mayank Agarwal took the attack to Punjab. Bengaluru were 56 for 1 at the end of the powerplay, thanks largely to Mayank's aggressive hitting. However, his stay at the crease didn’t last long. In the final over of the powerplay, Yuzvendra Chahal struck with a good-length leg-break, which Mayank lofted straight to Arshdeep Singh at deep backward square leg.

Neither side would have been particularly pleased or disappointed at the end of the powerplay, Punjab had removed two set batters, while Bengaluru managed to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Coming in at four, Patidar was expected to deliver an innings similar to Iyer’s captain’s knock against Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 — and he began well, striking a six off Chahal. But Jamieson struck again. He deceived Patidar with a slower leg-cutter as the batter stepped out to play a big shot. The ball beat him for pace and struck him plumb in front of the pad.

Bengaluru were 96 for 3 in 10.5 overs.

Since the dismissal of Patidar, Bengaluru went 13 balls without finding the boundary. The pitch had a bit of everything on offer, and the bowlers made full use of it by varying their pace. Another slower delivery from Azmatullah Omarzai accounted for Kohli, who was dismissed for 43. Attempting to pull a short ball over his right shoulder, he miscued it completely. Omarzai sprinted nearly 19 metres towards midwicket and pulled off a superb sliding catch.

Jitesh Sharma was beginning to build some momentum, but Jamieson struck again, removing Livingstone with a dipping slower full toss that the batter completely missed. Bengaluru were 168 for 5 in 17 overs.

Just as Jitesh looked set to push Bengaluru closer to the 200 mark, his cameo was cut short by Vyshak, whose length delivery went full and clipped the bails.

From there, the wickets kept tumbling. Arshdeep returned to tighten the screws, ensuring Bengaluru had no room to accelerate in the final overs. They finished on 190 for 9 after 20 overs.

Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 190/9 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 43, Arshdeep Singh 3/40, Kyle Jamieson 3/48) vs Punjab Kings