As a sports journalist, as a lover of the game of bat and ball, the Indian Premier League feels like a festive season – we look forward to it every year. For three months, the IPL brings unmatched joy, thrill, and a sense of celebration, all wrapped up in a fierce competition, on the field between the players and off the field between the fan clubs.
It feels as quiet as the calm after a thunderstorm; now that IPL 2025 has ended, the days feel strangely empty. It has been nine years since I have been covering the Indian Premier League (IPL), but I can confidently say that the 2025 edition of the IPL was one of the most emotional and unforgettable ones.
It had drama. It had entertainment. It had controversy. It had that perfect masala that kept everyone hooked to their television screens. IPL 2025 wasn’t just another edition of the world’s biggest cricket festival, but it was history that wrote itself in golden and red letters.
From the young guns like Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who is just 14 years old, to legends like MS Dhoni proving that they still have it, from players like Digvesh Rathi, who stole the show with his aggressiveness to the GOAT – Virat Kohli, who is known for his flamboyant nature behaving unusually calm throughout the season, from some jaw-dropping and thrilling moments, to the historic conclusion, the Indian Premier League 2025 had everything.
IPL 2025 was a rollercoaster ride, however, when it began, the usual energy was in the air – RCB was at the receiving end of mockery and trolls. Zinta was stealing hearts with her desi looks and SRK grabbed all the limelight with his dimples. There was also this fear that jersey number 7 might soon give me that big heartbreak.
But this year, it wasn’t about CSK or Thala for me, it wasn’t about the MI vs CSK or Virat vs Rohit, IPL 2025 was about Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Something was different, something felt beautifully strange about RCB. From the first game itself, there was a buzz around Virat Kohli‘s RCB, as if the script had already been written by the gods that it was finally the time. After so many disappointments in the past, it was hard to believe it was really happening.
Covering RCB this year was like watching a thrilling blockbuster movie in real time. Kohli’s energy, the team coming together again, and the fans’ unshakable belief – it all felt almost the same as every year but different.
This time it wasn’t just about cricket anymore; it was about closure. After years of trying and falling short, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally did it, they won their first-ever IPL title! The final was a nail-biter. They beat Punjab Kings by just six runs in front of a packed stadium in Ahmedabad. Virat Kohli, as always, led from the front, while Krunal Pandya’s all-round performance in the final was a game-changer.
The moment RCB won the IPL 2025 title, the fans from all around the nation went berserk while celebrating the success of the team. There was absolute chaos on the streets of Bengaluru.
The Virat Kohli-starrer RCB ended the wait of 18 years as they scripted history by winning their maiden Indian Premier League trophy by defeating Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 final match at the Narendra Modi Stadium. 18 years of heartbreak, jokes, and ‘Ee Sala Cup Namde..’ finally had an ending.
The night turned out to be an emotional rollercoaster for the fans of RCB and fans of Virat Kohli, like myself, who waited for 18 years to watch their legend Virat Kohli lift the prestigious silverware.
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But what should’ve been remembered as the perfect ending turned out to be the darkest chapters in the history of the Indian Premier League. The very next day, when I expected to cover once-in-a-lifetime celebrations, I instead found myself writing a completely different and heartbreaking story.
As journalists, as writers, as cricket enthusiasts – we chase emotions, we chase thrill, but nothing can ever prepare you for the moment you hear that fans, many of them kids, had lost their lives in what was supposed to be a day of joy, happiness, and celebrations.
The system failed, and the crowd control failed, and somewhere in the race, humanity died! What hurt the most was the contrast – while the players and the fans who managed to get inside the stadium celebrated, the scenes outside were heartbreaking. Some fans never made it home.
So what was different about this IPL, the fact that sport is more than just a game. It carries the power to unite, to heal, to hurt, and to humble. While I’ll never forget my favorite star, Virat Kohli, lifting that prestigious silverware, I will also never forget the silence that followed.
Just another Sports Writer.
