IPL 2025 Final: RCB's Patidar reflects on his debut season as captain ahead of title clash vs PBKS

Rajat Patidar reflects on his first season as RCB captain, highlighting it as a dream come true. He emphasizes learning from experienced players and their diverse perspectives, focusing on playing their best cricket in the final against Punjab Kings.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Rajat Patidar reflects on his first season as captain of RCB ahead of their clash in the final of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) against Punjab Kings (PBKS). 

Patidar cited the ongoing IPL season as a dream season, "I think for me it's a dream season because I'm captaining first, and yeah, at the same time, exciting also," Rajat Patidar said in the pre-match press conference. 

Patidar on learning from experienced players 

Patidar also spoke about learning from experienced players and leaders, finding their diverse perspectives invaluable for his new leadership role.

“Till now, I think I have enjoyed a lot, to be honest. And for me, I think it is a great opportunity to learn from the great leaders of the game, great players, and great foreign players of the game. So I think it is a great opportunity for me to learn from them. And they have different ideas, which is helping me a lot in my new leadership role.”

"I think it is not frustrating for me. And as I said, I think we are not looking at the stage where we are going to play the finals. But we will try to play our best cricket. We are not playing here for the stage. I always like to keep things simple. We will see and it will be an exciting game for us tomorrow," he added. 

RCB and PBKS to vie for the maiden IPL title

RCB will face Punjab Kings in the historic IPL 2025 final on Tuesday, June 3. The match, featuring two teams with no trophy yet, the match will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Bengaluru and Punjab have played 36 IPL matches against each other so far. And, nothing separates the two as both teams have won 18 each. 

In their previous encounter, Bengaluru defeated Punjab Kings by eight wickets in Qualifier 1, with Philip Salt smashing a solid 56-run knock. Meanwhile, Punjab Kings reached the final by overcoming Mumbai Indians by five wickets, powered by Shreyas Iyer's crucial 87-run innings.