As Royal Challengers Bengaluru are set to face Punjab Kings in the Qualifier 1 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Thursday, Australia legend Shane Watson has made a massive prediction. The former all-rounder, who too has played for RCB in the past, has backed the side to win the title this year. He gave the reason behind his prediction and also stated that Virat Kohli will be the Player of the Match in the final game of the tournament. Notably, RCB, who have been a part of IPL since its inception in 2008, have never won the coveted trophy. They have played the finals in 2009, 2011 and 2016 but ended up losing all three.
“The winner of IPL 2025… I’ve been thinking long and hard about it, is RCB. And the Man of the Match for me is Virat Kohli, the great man. And here’s the reason why. I just get a feeling that this is the time for RCB. They have had a few blips in the back end of the tournament, but with Josh Hazlewood coming back for the Playoffs, I get a feeling this is the year,” Watson said in a video he posted on his X handle.
Virat Kohli has been in sensational touch in the ongoing season, having scored 602 runs in 13 matches at an average of 60.20. His strike rate is 147.91. Kohli has hit 8 fifties so far and is only one away from equalling the record of David Warner of smashing most half-centuries in a single IPL season.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the ultimate face of loyalty, resilience, patience for its unwavering fan base and a franchise trolled for a dust-collecting trophy cabinet despite presence of some of the sport’s biggest superstars, is just few steps away from capturing the Indian Premier League (IPL) glory for the first-time ever.
RCB and PBKS, two franchises that have not lifted the IPL gold in their entire existence, will be aiming to book a direct spot in the final when they lock horns in the Qualifier one at Mullanpur on Thursday. Even if either of them loses, they will get a shot at redemption when they play either Gujarat Titans (GT) or Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Qualifier two at Ahmedabad. While PBKS have defied expectations and displayed fearlessness under skipper Shreyas Iyer and coach Ricky Ponting, the journey towards the playoffs has been just as brilliant for RCB, led by Rajat Patidar.