Virat Kohli played a brilliant innings of 43 runs in the final match against Punjab Kings.
Virat Kohli finally won the IPL 2025 title and called it one of the most special moments of his career, but he clearly said that it is five steps below Test cricket. Just last month, Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket, where he retired as India’s fourth-highest run-scorer.
Virat Kohli’s team Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won the trophy by defeating Punjab Kings by 6 runs in the final of the 18th season of IPL played at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Kohli played a patient innings of 43 runs off 35 balls, which gave a strong foundation to RCB’s innings. Punjab Kings were invited to bat first, and with the contributions of Mayank Agarwal (24 runs, 18 balls), captain Rajat Patidar (26 runs, 16 balls), Liam Livingstone (25 runs, 15 balls), and Jitesh Sharma (24 runs, 10 balls), RCB added enough runs on the board, which was defended well by their bowlers.
Punjab Kings got off to a good start. Their openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh shared a 43-run partnership, and Josh Inglis (39 runs, 23 balls) and Shashank Singh (61 runs, 30 balls) batted brilliantly. Still, they fell 6 runs short of the target.
This victory was a very emotional moment for Kohli, who has been playing with RCB since the inception of IPL in 2008. After losing the final three times in 2009, 2011 and 2016, he finally won the title of the world’s most competitive T20 league. Kohli was the highest run-scorer for RCB this season, scoring 657 runs in 15 matches at an average of 54.75.
After the match, Kohli spoke his heart out. He said, “This victory is as much for the fans as it is for the team. I gave this team my youth, my best time, and all my experience. I tried to win it every season, gave my all every time. Never thought that this day would come. When we won, I was overwhelmed with emotions.”
‘I love Test cricket’ Virat Kohli
When it came to Test cricket, Kohli was very candid, saying, “This moment (winning the IPL) is one of the best moments of my career. But it is five places below Test cricket. That is how much I value Test cricket. I love Test cricket so much.”
Last month, Kohli retired from Test cricket, where he scored 9,230 runs in 123 Tests at an average of 46.85 in a career spanning 14 years. He retired as India’s fourth-highest run-scorer in Test cricket.
Explaining the importance of Test cricket, Kohli said, “All I want to say is that the young players who are coming up should respect this format. Because if you do well in Test cricket, then wherever you go in the world, people look you in the eye, shake your hand and say, ‘Wow, you played the game really well.’”
He further said, “If you want to earn the respect of the cricket world all over the world, then take up Test cricket, put your heart and soul into it. You will get the real respect of the cricket world when you come out on the other side with achievements.”