Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) to register an easy win in the 37th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Sunday (April 20). Coming to bat first, PBKS batters managed to score 157/6 in 20 overs. However, RCB chased the target in just 18.5 overs with Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal’s heroics. After the game, Virat who was named the Player of the Match expressed the award should have been given to Devdutt instead.
Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal’s innings against Punjab Kings
Opener Virat Kohli smashed 73 runs off 54 balls including seven fours and a six. He scored his 67th IPL fifty-plus score and overtook David Warner for the most fifty-plus scores in the league. On the other hand, Devdutt Padikkal smashed his first half-century since 2023 in the match. He accelerated RCB’s chase with his 61 runs off just 35 deliveries at an explosive strike-rate of 174.29.
Virat Kohli after receiving the Player of the Match award
With the win against PBKS, RCB have jumped to the third position on the IPL 2025 Points Table with 10 points and an NRR of +0.472.
“We have played some amazing cricket away from home. When you go from eight to ten points, it makes a massive difference in the points table. The mindset has to get 2 points in every game. I wanted to accelerate more,” Virat Kohli expressed.
Talking about receiving the POTM award, Kohli said, ” I thought Dev made a difference today, this award should go to him, I don’t know why they have given it to me.”
“I try to stay there, holding one end up, and try to accelerate later. There always is a temptation to keep going in the same way,” he added.
In their previous game against PBKS which was shortened to 14 overs due to rain, RCB had lost by 5 wickets. However, they bounced back and won the match.
“The last game was a shortened game, so we had to go hard against PBKS. One partnership is good enough in T20 cricket during run chase. I can accelerate, but I want to understand the strengths of other players. Holding one end up at the moment, that’s working for us,” Virat Kohli said.
Virat Kolhi on the RCB team of IPL 2025
“We have got a good team. Guys like David, Jitesh, and Patidar, the roles they are playing. It’s coming off nicely. Also, Romario coming in for us today. Livingstone’s also there. That was missing over the last seasons. Guys can keep counter-attacking, the guys are hungry. You can see that intensity on the field as they are diving around. That is really pleasing to see. When you play like that, your chances of winning are better,” Kohli further added on RCB’s team this season.
