On June 3, 2025, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) secured their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title, defeating Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 6 runs in the final at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad (Gujarat).
- In the finals, RCB set a target of 190/9 in 20 overs with Virat Kohli scoring 43 off 35 balls, while PBKS were limited to 184/7, falling short by 6 runs despite Shashank Singh’s 61 off 30 balls.
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Krunal Pandya awarded player of the match in the finals and became the first player to win ‘Player of the Match’ award in two IPL finals, previously for MI in 2017.
About Indian Premier League (IPL):
i.IPL is a franchise-based Twenty20 (T20) cricket league held annually in India and organized by the Mumbai (Maharashtra) based Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
ii.The inaugural edition of the IPL was held in 2008.
iii.The BCCI has established the IPL Governing Council to oversee the IPL operations. The council is currently chaired by Arun Dhumal.
iv.Most successful teams: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) are the most successful teams in IPL, each having won five titles. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) stands second with three IPL titles.
About IPL 2025:
i.The 18th season of IPL, also known as TATA IPL 2025, was held from March 22 to June 3, 2025.
ii.A total of 10 teams participated in the tournament, which featured 74 matches across the season.
iii.The matches were initially held at 13 venues, and later suspended on May 9, 2025, due to the India-Pakistan crisis, and resumed on May 17, 2025, across 6 venues for the rest of the tournament.
iv.Title Sponsor: TATA Group secured the title sponsorship rights for 5 years (2024–2028) at a cost of Rs. 2,500 crore
v.Broadcasting Rights: JioHotstar (merger of JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar), now holding domestic digital broadcasting rights
vi.Advertising Revenue: JioStar secured 20 brand sponsors for IPL 2025, targeting a record Rs. 4,500 crore in advertising revenue, with key partners including My11Circle as co-presenting partner and Campa as co-powered sponsor.
vi.Associate Partners: Mumbai (Maharashtra) based Angel One (financial services) and RuPay (Global card payment network from India).
- Angel One’s partnership with the IPL is for five years, from 2024 to 2028.
vi.From 2025, IPL adopted the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s Code of Conduct, replacing its own previous regulations.
About Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB):
i.RCB is owned by Bengaluru (Karnataka) based United Spirits Limited (USL), which is a subsidiary of the British multinational beverage company Diageo.
- The franchise is chaired by Prathamesh Mishra, who is the Chief Commercial Officer of Diageo India.
ii.The team is captained by Rajat Patidar and coached by Andy Flower from Zimbabwe.
iii.Before winning their maiden IPL title in 2025, RCB finished as runners-up in 2009, 2011, and 2016.
IPL 2025 Awards & Prizes:
| Award | Winner (Team) | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) | Rs.20 crore |
| Runner | Punjab Kings (PBKS) | Rs.12.5 crore |
| Third Place | Mumbai Indians (MI) | Rs.7 crore |
| Fourth Place | Gujarat Titans (GT) | Rs.6.5 crore |
| Orange Cap winner (Most Runs) | Sai Sudharsan (GT) (759 runs in 15 matches) | Rs 10 Lakh |
| Purple Cap winner (Most Wickets) | Prasidh Krishna (GT) (25 wickets in 15 matches) | Rs 10 Lakh |
| Emerging Player of the season | Sai Sudharsan (GT) | Rs 10 Lakh |
| Most Valuable Player (MVP) | Suryakumar Yadav (MI) | Rs 15 Lakh |
| Best Strike Rate Award | Vaibhav Suryavanshi (Rajasthan Royals (RR)) | Rs 10 lakh + Tata Curvv (Car) |
| Fantasy Player of the season | Sai Sudharsan (GT) | Rs 10 Lakh |
| Catch of the season | Kamindu Mendis (Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)) | Rs 10 Lakh |
| Most dot balls of the season | Mohammed Siraj (GT) | Rs 10 Lakh |
| Most Sixes Award | Nicholas Pooran (Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)) | Rs 10 Lakh |
| Most Fours Award | Sai Sudharsan (GT) | Rs 10 Lakh |
| Team Fairplay award | Chennai Super Kings (CSK) | Rs 10 Lakh |
| Pitch and Ground Award | Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA), New Delhi, (Delhi) | Rs 50 Lakh |
Key Highlights:
Virat Kohli Becomes First Player to Score 9000 Runs for a Single Team in T20 Cricket
i.Virat Kohli, the only cricketer to represent RCB since the inception of IPL in 2008, achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first player globally to score 9,000 runs for a single franchise (RCB) in the T20 format
- He accomplished this feat by aggregating a total of 9,030 runs for RCB, comprising 8,606 runs in the IPL and 424 runs in the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20).
ii.Virat Kohli set a new record in IPL by scoring his 62th fifty-plus score, the highest in IPL history. He surpassed (Australia) David Warner’s 61 fifties with an unbeaten 73 runs against PBKS while playing for RCB. At the end of the 2025 season, Virat has scored 63 fifty-plus scores in IPL history.
Rohit Sharma Becomes First Indian Batter to Smash 300 Sixes
Rohit Sharma, representing Mumbai Indians (MI), became the first Indian batter to hit 300 sixes in the IPL during the IPL 2025 Eliminator against Gujarat Titans (GT).
- With this, he joined Chris Gayle (West Indies), who leads with 357 sixes, in the elite six-hitting club. Virat Kohli stands third on the list with 291 sixes.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi becomes youngest ever to score T20 hundred
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, a 14-year-old prodigy from Rajasthan Royals (RR), made headlines by scoring the fastest century by an Indian in IPL history.
- He smashed the century in 35-balls against Gujarat Titans (GT), becoming the youngest player to achieve this feat in T20 cricket.
Ashwani Kumar first Indian with 4-fer IPL debut
MI’s pacer Ashwani Kumar became the first Indian to take a four-wicket haul on IPL debut, recording figures of 4/24 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2025.
Kamindu Mendis creates history in IPL by bowling with both arms
Sri Lankan all-rounder Kamindu Mendis made history by switching his bowling arm during an over, delivering both left-arm spin and off-spin in the same over for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Kolkata Knight Riders.
- He bowled three deliveries of left-arm spin and three of off-spin in the same over.
IPL 2025 introduces Champak, an AI robot dog
The IPL introduced “Champak,” a four-legged Artificial Intelligence (AI) robot dog developed by wTVision (Ahmedabad) in collaboration with Omnicam (Mumbai, Maharashtra).
- Equipped with a camera, Champak enhanced the broadcasting experience by providing dynamic angles and interacting with players and spectators.
MS Dhoni became the first wicketkeeper-batter in IPL to complete 200 dismissals
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, wicketkeeper-batter of Chennai Super Kings (CSK), became the first player in IPL history to complete 200 dismissals.
- This includes 153 catches and 47 stumpings. He achieved this milestone during the IPL 2025 match between CSK and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
MI became first IPL team to win 150 matches
Mumbai Indians (MI) became the first team to record 150 IPL wins after defeating Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 54 runs.
Shreyas Iyer’s Unique Record: IPL Final with Three Different Teams
Shreyas Iyer became the first captain to lead three different teams to the IPL finals: Delhi Capitals (2020), Kolkata Knight Riders (2024), and Punjab Kings (2025). Despite his efforts, PBKS fell short in the 2025 final against RCB.
Note- Shreyas Iyer made history at the IPL 2025 auction, becoming the second most expensive player ever at Rs 26.75 crore
Tanmay Srivastava Makes History as IPL’s First Player-Umpire
Tanmay Srivastava, a member of India’s 2008 Under 19 (U19) World Cup-winning team, became the first individual to participate in the IPL both as a player and as an umpire, officiating matches in the 2025 season.
- He played for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) during the 2008 and 2009 IPL seasons.
Highest IPL score by an Indian: Abhishek Sharma scored 141 runs
Abhishek Sharma played a spectacular innings by scoring 141 runs off 55 balls to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) chase of 246 runs against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their IPL 2025. His score is the third-highest individual score in IPL history and the highest by an Indian player.
- The highest individual IPL score is held by former RCB batter Chris Gayle, who scored a remarkable 175 runs. The second-highest score is by Brendon McCullum of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who made an unbeaten 158 runs in the inaugural IPL season in 2008.
Most expensive IPL 2025 auction:
Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player ever in IPL auctions, securing a massive Rs 27 crore contract with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the 2025 IPL auction.
