Ticker tape parade and celebrations planned as RCB players head to Bengaluru with IPL trophy

BENGALURU: After winning the maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), will take part in a victory parade from Vidhana Soudha to Chinnaswamy Stadium. All the RCB players will meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar at the Vidhana Soudha later this evening.

Home Minister G Parameshwara, along with DG&IGP M A Saleem and City Police Commissioner B Dayananda inspects the arrangements at Vidhana Soudha on Wednesday.

Preparations have started in Bengaluru for the victory parade of RCB, after Bengaluru edged past Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final of IPL 2025 to lift their maiden IPL trophy after 18 years, on Tuesday. The RCB players will participate in a victory parade on the road in front of Vidhana Soudha, the heart of Bengaluru, and on the road near Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium.

From 6 pm onwards, celebrations inside the Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium with fans will get under way. Virat Kohli and all RCB players are scheduled to reach Bengaluru later this afternoon.

The wait for the title continues for PBKS, who reached their first final in 11 years under the exceptional leadership of Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting.

However, after 18 years, skipper Rajat Patidar has lifted the title for RCB, with their superstar batter Virat Kohli getting his first-ever IPL trophy after 18 years with the team.

Coming to the match, 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 Pandya (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.

The title wait continues for PBKS, who reached their second final and their first in 11 years. (ANI)