'Punjab Kings would’ve won if…': Nehal Wadhera identifies 'Villain' in IPL 2025 final loss

The 24-year-old Punjab Kings (PBKS) left-handed batter Nehal Wadhera has finally identified the villain in the loss of the Punjab-based franchise in the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

Nehal Wadhera also opined that the Punjab Kings overall had a good campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, and reaching the final after over a decade was a huge achievement.

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Young Nehal Wadhera shines for Punjab Kings

After making his name in the scene for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Indian Premier League 2023 and 2024, Nehal Wadhera was acquired by Ricky Ponting's Punjab Kings (PBKS) for INR 4.20 crore at the mega auction.

The PBKS team management showed a lot of faith in him, and he repaid it by handling the middle-order duties very well and emerging as one of the top performers with the bat.

In 16 matches, the left-handed batsman slammed 369 runs at an average of 30.75 and a strike rate of 145.84 to go with two fifty-plus scores.

His best performance for the Punjab Kings came in the match against the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on May 18 as he slammed a sensational 70 runs off 37 balls, including five fours and five sixes.

Talking about his poorest performance, it came in the final on June 3 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Ahmedabad as he scored a sloppy 15 runs off 18 balls, with one six.

I totally blame myself - Nehal Wadhera identifies himself as a villain in Punjab Kings' loss in the final

In an interaction with the Hindustan Times, Nehal Wadhera took full blame for the loss of Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 final, saying that they could have won had he delivered a better performance. He explained:

"I totally blame myself. If I had played better at that time, we could have definitely won. I won't blame the pitch because RCB scored 190 runs. I think I was just taking the game deep, and I believe in finishing games by taking it deep. I think this was one of those days when I couldn't finish the game. When I had to accelerate in all the tournaments, whenever I accelerated, I think it paid off except for the last game.

"Some days, it doesn't click, and I think it was the same day when it didn't happen. But I don't have any regrets that I was taking the game deep, and that situation was fine because the wickets were falling, but I think I could have accelerated a little more, which I have learnt and analysed. I will do that in the future and that will help me and the team."

Yes, actually my favourite innings this year was against RCB - Nehal Wadhera

Nehal Wadhera further said that his unbeaten knock of 33 runs off 19 balls, with 3 fours and 3 sixes, in a rain-hit match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chinnaswamy was his favorite knock in the IPL 2025. He said:

"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."

Nehal Wadhera also shared his honest views on Punjab Kings' campaign under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer and said:

"Definitely, we reached the finals. After 11 years, I think it's a huge achievement for us. The key results didn't go in our favour but if we talk about the campaign, it was really good. Overall, apart from the finals, if we look at our entire season, it was really good."