Virat Kohli, the star batsman for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), was at his most enthusiastic during the last moments of the pivotal IPL 2025 match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 24. With just 18 off 12 deliveries needed to win, RR put themselves in a great position at 188/5 in 18 overs as they chased 206.
Josh Hazlewood, the RCB’s star pacer, took wickets off consecutive deliveries, though, and a furious Kohli celebrated enthusiastically with his teammates in the dugout. Wanindu Hasaranga was run out in the third ball of the last over, thus completing the deal, as the former skipper repeated his performance.
Here is a video of an enthusiastic Kohli during the last moments of the exciting match between RCB and RR:
𝙀𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 that speak louder than words 🥳#TATAIPL | #RCBvRR | @imVkohli | @RCBTweets pic.twitter.com/Q4B09fkllE
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 24, 2025
Hazlewood secured the Player of the Match title through his outstanding bowling performance which resulted in 4 wickets over 33 runs in four overs. Kohli played a crucial role in the first innings through his 42-ball 70 which helped RCB reach 205/5 in 20 overs.
In the end, RCB triumphed by 11 runs, snapping their three-game home losing record this season. It was the team’s first IPL 2025 home win in four games.
“Best place to play cricket in the IPL” – Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli expressed his delight with RCB’s first IPL 2025 home victory as he declared Bengaluru provides the best cricketing environment because of the enthusiastic fan base. Virat Kohli maintains top form this season following his triumph in winning the IPL 2024 Orange Cap.
Kohli currently maintains the second position on the Orange Cap leaderboard while playing nine matches as he scored 392 runs at 65.33 average and a 144.11 strike rate with five fifty scores.
During the post-match presentation, Kohli discussed the victory over RR and stated (via Cricbuzz):
“Pretty happy, we discussed a few things as a batting unit and applied ourselves well enough to get a total on the board. We figured out a way to bat now and in the next few home games, we should be in a better position to get those extra 15-20 runs. It (this venue) is the best place to play cricket in the IPL, and the fans backed us during good and bad times. It is a special place and have lot of special memories.”
Virat Kohli
The win also allowed RCB rise to third place in the points table, with 12 points in nine games. On April 27, they will travel to play the second-seeded Delhi Capitals (DC).
