‘History-maker’ Krunal Pandya copies Hardik Pandya’s iconic celebration after becoming 1st player to...

Krunal Pandya, on Tuesday (June 3), starred with the ball to help Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Punjab Kings in the final of IPL 2025 and clinch their maiden title.

The Bengaluru-based outfit beat Punjab Kings by 6 runs in a thrilling final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Krunal Pandya shines

At a venue, spinners usually struggle, but Krunal Pandya made a huge impact and was adjudged the Player of the Match for his stunning display. He gave away just 17 runs in his 4 overs and picked up 2 crucial wickets as well. In a match where most of the bowlers struggled to maintain a good economy rate, Krunal Pandya conceded at only 4.2 runs per over.

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He put RCB in a strong position by dismissing well-set Prabhsimran Singh and Josh Inglis. It was his 4th over when he dismissed Inglis for 39 runs and gave away just 3 runs.

After the win in the final, Krunal Pandya celebrated the occasion by replicating the trademark celebration of his brother Hardik. With the IPL trophy in front of him, Krunal posed with his arms stretched just like Hardik did after winning the Champions Trophy earlier this year.

❤️ @RCBTweets pic.twitter.com/nRsgtJv8BR

— Krunal Pandya (@krunalpandya24) June 4, 2025

KRUNAL × HARDIK - THE TRADEMARK CELEBRATION 🥶 pic.twitter.com/TQryJusPIG

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) June 4, 2025

Krunal Pandya creates history

The stunning performance in the IPL 2025 final has also helped Krunal Pandya create history. He has now become the first player to win the Player of the Match award in an IPL final twice. He won the first award in 2017 when he was playing for the Mumbai Indians.

In that final, he was adjudged the Player of the Match for his batting efforts as Mumbai Indians beat the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant by just 1 run. Batting first, Mumbai Indians were reeling at 79/7 before Krunal Pandya's 47-run knock powered them to a challenging total.

Clutch Player 😎#KrunalPandya #RCB #RCBvsPBKS #RCBvPBKS #IPL2025 #IPL2025Final pic.twitter.com/k2ppTVIOTP

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) June 4, 2025

I just backed myself - Krunal Pandya

"When we batted in the first innings, I was sitting outside and chatting with batters, I realised the slower you bowl the better. But in this format as a bowler you need guts to do that because the margin of error is small.

"I just backed myself and thought that if I'm able to vary my pace and keep it more on the slower side, I'll create chances rather than just coming and firing it in," Krunal said after the match.

Coming to the game, RCB scored 190/9 in the allotted 20 overs. In reply, Punjab Kings finished their innings on 184/7.

Also Read: Virat Kohli officially makes retirement declaration after RCB's IPL win