Sunak is clearly backing the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who put up 190 runs batting first, with star player Virat Kohli scoring the highest at 43 runs.
Let’s go @RCBTweets ???? pic.twitter.com/iIIW7GFfKH
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) June 3, 2025
In the last over, Sunak leapt with joy as Krunal Pandya attempted a big hit against Arshdeep Singh, only for the southpaw to be caught at the boundary by captain Shreyas Iyer.
While RCB did seem slightly cautious in the tense final, fate didn’t favor the four-time finalists in their quest for a maiden title, as each batter fell after promising starts.
There were no standout moments during the final night, as Virat Kohli (43), aiming to steady the innings as he has done before, disappointingly exited after a hard-fought innings.
Kohli managed just three fours—two occurring after the ninth over—amassing his 43 runs off 35 balls at a strike rate of 122.85.
RCB’s scoring stagnated after the powerplay, where they achieved 55/1, as their batters focused more on preserving their wickets rather than seizing the opportunity to score big, with only 42 runs accrued between overs 6-11.
Phil Salt (16) hit a six and a four in the opening over, but in the subsequent over, he misfired the ball off the toe of his bat, sending it skywards.
Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer sprinted back more than 10 paces to take a superb catch off Kyle Jamieson (3/48) for the first wicket.
Salt’s early dismissal significantly hindered RCB’s momentum, as no succeeding batters, including Mayank Agarawal (24), Rajat Patidar (26), and Liam Livingstone (25), managed to convert their starts into substantial runs.
Jamieson made a significant contribution, expertly mixing his lengths and variations to restrict the scoring while claiming three crucial wickets to push RCB deeper into trouble.
In the second over, after Salt struck a four over mid-on, Jamieson had the RCB opener caught by Iyer, and in the 11th over, following a six from Rajat Patidar over mid-off, Jamieson delivered an exceptional slow yorker that bowled Patidar out.
Jamieson’s figures took a hit in the 17th over when Jitesh Sharma (24 off 10 balls, 2x4s, 2x6s) walloped a couple of sixes, while Livingstone added one to collect 23 runs from that over.
Nevertheless, Jamieson concluded the over by trapping Livingstone leg-before with a full toss.
Despite an uncharacteristic start where he conceded 37 runs in his first three overs, Indian star Arshdeep Singh rebounded admirably in the innings’ final over, taking three wickets.
Arshdeep dismissed Krunal Pandya (4), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1), and Romario Shepherd (17), who had started to look threatening with a six and a four.
(With PTI inputs)
First Published: Jun 3, 2025 9:52 PM IST
