Bengaluru begins preparations for RCB's victory parade after maiden IPL title win

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 4 (ANI): Preparations have begun in Bengaluru for the victory parade of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after the team defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 to lift their maiden title after 18 years.
The RCB players will hold a victory parade on the road in front of the Vidhana Soudha, the heart of the city, and also along the stretch near the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The long wait for an IPL title ended for RCB, while PBKS continue their quest, having reached their first final in 11 years under the leadership of captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting.
RCB skipper Rajat Patidar led the team to victory, with star batter Virat Kohli finally getting his first-ever IPL trophy after playing 18 seasons with the franchise.
PBKS' Shashank Singh played a valiant knock, scoring an unbeaten 61 off 30 balls, hitting three fours and six sixes. Despite his brilliance, the late surge came too late to change the outcome. He hit three sixes in the final over but could not prevent defeat.
PBKS won the toss and elected to bowl first. Arshdeep Singh (3/40) and Kyle Jamieson (3/48) applied timely breaks with the ball, while Yuzi Chahal (1/37) also prevented batters from attacking.
While Virat (43 in 35 balls, with three fours) tried to keep the innings together, skipper Rajat Patidar (26 in 16 balls, with a four and two sixes), Jitesh Sharma (24 in 10 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Liam Livingstone (25 in 15 balls, with two fours) upped the attack enough to help RCB post 190/9 in 20 overs.
In the run-chase, PBKS started well with Priyansh Arya (24 in 19 balls, with four boundaries) and Prabhsimran (26 in 22 balls, with two sixes) stitching a 43-run stand.
Josh Inglis (39 in 23 balls, with a four and four sixes) and Shashank Singh (61* in 30 balls, three wins and six sixes) tried their level best to keep up with the rising run rate, but Krunal Panddya (2/17), Yash Dayal (1/18) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/38) put a fine show with the ball to restrict PBKS to 184/7, despite a sensational 22 runs smashed by Shashank in the final over while needing 29. (ANI)