Credit: BCCI/IPL
The IPL 2025 ended with Royal Challengers Bengaluru lifting the title for the first time. The Rajat Patidar-led side defeated Punjab Kings in the final by six runs at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on June 3. As RCB finally got their hands on the title after heartbreaks in the previous three finals they played, PBKS who were also playing in the final after 11 years were left empty-handed again.
Chasing a target of 191 runs in the final, PBKS were also giving tough fight to RCB but Nehal Wadhera couldn’t keep up with the required run rate as he got out after scoring 15 runs off 18 balls. In the end, PBKS fells short off just six runs from RCB’s total in a big final. Now, a few days after the heartbreaking loss, Wadhera took a balance on himself saying that he failed to accelerate when the team needed the most.
"I totally blame myself for the IPL 2025 Final. If I had played better, we could've won the IPL. Earlier in the tournament, when I had to accelerate, I did it and it paid off except for the last game," Wadhera said in his interview with Hindustan Times.
My favourite innings this year was against RCB: Nehal Wadhera
Apart from the disappointing outing in the final, Nehal Wadhera had an impressive season with the bat in IPL 2025 where he amassed 369 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 145.84. Although he got only two fifties, Wadhera turned out to be a crucial player in the middle-order for PBKS with his quickfire knocks. After showing his disappointment for the performance in the final, Wadhera also mentioned his favourite innings from the recently-ended IPL season which also came against RCB.
When both PBKS and RCB met for the first time in IPL 2025 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, PBKS restricted RCB to 95/9 in 14 overs in a rain-affected game. However, this small target also became a bit challenging for PBKS at one point as they were reduced to 53/4 after eight overs. However, Nehal Wadhera held his nerves till the end and scored an unbeaten 33*(19) runs as PBKS won the match in 12.1 overs by five wickets.
“Yes, actually my favourite innings this year was against RCB because I can say that it was a difficult track to bat. At that time, the pressure was building on our team, and when I went to bat, I told the coach I would finish the game, and I will take all the pressure off the team. My personal favourite innings were definitely against RCB and Rajasthan Royals. The latter one was also very good. I think that time we lost 3 wickets and the acceleration that we did in that game was also good,” Wadhera said.
