In a game that was most fitting for a final, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) managed to keep their nerves to beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs. With both teams in Red fighting for their maiden title, there was always going to be joy on one side and heartbreak on the other.
In the end, it was RCB who managed to keep their nerves and end their long wait of 18 years to get their hands on the trophy. The result also marked the end of a long wait for Virat Kohli, Indian cricket’s biggest superstar, having spent so many years with a single franchise, to finally silence all his critics.
PBKS, on the other hand, will need to wait for another year to try and break the jinx. They will take heart from the fact that they played some of the best cricket they have ever played as a team this season. But they will also need to admit that they lost to the better team, who defeated them twice in one week en route to winning the title.
Set 191 to win, it initially seemed a total under par, especially when PBKS managed to reach 70 at the end of the 8th over and seemed totally in control, thanks to a quick start by their openers, Priyansh and Prabhsimran, before Hazelwood good rid of Priyansh for 24 and then Inglis taking over and continued to keep the momentum going.
With Kohli at the center of RCB’s decade-long quest, their long-awaited victory brought an emotional edge to the final confrontation. Kohli, the franchise’s face since 2008, contributed to raising interest in the match to stratospheric levels.
The grand finale kicked off strongly with 43 million views, but the rush gained momentum as the game went on: Phil Salt’s dynamite beginning triggered a surge in traffic and Shreyas Iyer’s removal of Salt attracted even more viewers.
By the 11th over, more than 110m viewers tuned in. When Kohli was removed at 43, views reached 265mc. Jitesh Sharma’s RCB counterattack took views above 300m. With RCB’s mini-collapse the total reached 347m up to the 20th over. RCB finished their innings at 190 runs, and the viewership reached 350m.
PBKS started their pursuit with purpose, hitting a boundary off the first delivery. But when Krunal Pandya struck in the early stages to remove Prabhsimran Singh, both the game and the viewership tally took a dramatic turn. Views hit 500m within moments of the breakthrough.
RCB slogans echoed inside Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium by the 9th over. As the climax approached, fans stormed online 550m views were attained by the 14th over. By the time RCB had won, the viewership had recorded a record 678m.
What the numbers mean
It’s important to note that JioHotstar reports total views, not unique individuals. That means every time a viewer opens the app or stream even if it’s multiple times each counts as a separate view. While this inflates the total, it still reflects massive engagement and repeated tune-ins, especially in key moments like Kohli’s dismissal or the final over.
The triumph was not just in the final. IPL 2025 broke records right from the beginning: The opening weekend witnessed 49.56bn minutes of cumulative watch time. Just the first three games received 1.37bn views, a 54% rise in Connected TV (CTV) consumption and a high concurrency of 34m. Compared to the previous season, digital viewership increased by 40%, indicating that the IPL’s OTT reach is increasing year-on-year.
The audience for television also reflected digital success. Based on BARC numbers: More than 253m viewers watched during the opening weekend. Watch time reached a jaw-dropping 27.7 billion minutes, up 22% from IPL 2024.
IPL final beats India-Pakistan clash
According MoneyControl, while the India vs Pakistan game in February’s ICC Championship attracted 600m digital views, the IPL 2025 final went one step ahead. 610m simultaneous viewers watched the Champions Trophy Final between India and New Zealand, which was the most-watched live event in history. But the aggregate viewership of the IPL 2025 final, at 678m eyeballs, has now become a record in Indian sports streaming history.
After almost two months and 74 adrenaline-fueled games, IPL 2025 made RCB first-time champions. And in the process, it unleashed levels of digital interaction that were unprecedented.
