South African cricket legend AB de Villiers expressed his excitement for the IPL 2025 final, adding that he will celebrate if Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) win their first IPL title by defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The former RCB stalwart opened up on his partnership with Virat Kohli days and that he would do everything to join the celebrations and personally congratulate Kohli for the record.
“I will celebrate & try and get into the change room somehow – Just to give Virat a Big Hug,” de Villiers told Cricket.com.
RCB progressed to the final after a strong performance over PBKS in Qualifier 1 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. But on June 1, PBKS recovered well and defeated the five-time champion Mumbai Indians (MI) to guarantee a berth in the championship game.
The former South Africa international will always be a big figure in the IPL who scored way more than 5,000 runs in the IPL. His retirement did not mean his support to the team ended as he was still able to forge many memorable partnerships with Kohli who helped many records to be set. Throughout IPL 2025, Kohli has been in form of his life having 614 runs at an average of 55.81. The Orange Cap race is at the moment something he leads currently stands fifth.
Rajat Patidar led RCB going into the competition under new management. They made it to the final for the first time in nine years and ended second in the standings with 19 points. However, Shreyas Iyer, who captained PBKS, also had an incredible return this season. The squad ended at the top of the table and made it to the playoffs after 11 years under his leadership.
Both franchises are trying to win the prestigious event for the first time since it began in 2008. A new champion will be crowned in the IPL 2025 after 18 seasons of the lucrative tournament.
