It all comes down to the IPL 2025 final. Both Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru have been waiting for 17 years to lift the IPL trophy. Now, both traditional underachievers have a chance to win their maiden IPL title in Ahmedabad on June 3. While no PBKS players have played a final for them, Virat Kohli has been there to witness three finals, losing each of them in 2009, 2011 and 2016.
Kohli has lost two finals as the RCB captain, and now, as a player, he has a chance to amend it. While he hasn’t played in Ahmedabad in IPL 2025, Kohli still has a decent record that will be crucial for RCB. Kohli is the backbone of RCB’s batting, and to win the final at last, his batting will be important. Kohli has already scored 618 runs this season.
Virat Kohli’s record in Ahmedabad
King Kohli has had an excellent record in Ahmedabad across formats. In Tests, he averages 61.50 in 5 innings, including a century. In ODIs, Kohli has three half-centuries. In T20Is, Kohli has an average of 86.00 in six innings, including three half-centuries.
Overall, in IPL, Kohli has played six matches in Ahmedabad, scoring 219 runs at an average of 54.75. He also has two half-centuries. Last season, Kohli played a match-winning knock of 70 off 44 balls against Gujarat Titans as RCB chased down a 201-run target in just 16 overs.
What would concern Punjab Kings is his record in the chases. Both half-centuries in Ahmedabad have come when RCB chased a target.
- 62 vs RR, IPL 2015: The chasemaster led RCB in a 134-run chase, scoring an unbeaten 62 off 46 balls on a slow surface. After Mitchell Starc bagged 3/22, RCB chased down the target in 16.1 overs. Kohli added an unbeaten 98-run stand with AB de Villiers, giving Rajasthan Royals no chance to make a comeback.
- 70 vs GT, IPL 2024: In another chase of 201-run, Kohli smashed an unbeaten 70 off 44 balls. RCB chased down the target in 16 overs. While Will Jacks was the hero in the chase, scoring an unbeaten 100, Kohli anchored throughout. After a 40-run opening stand with Faf du Plessis, he added an unbeaten 166-run stand with Jacks, completing the chase in 16 overs.
| Opposition | Runs | Balls | SR | 4s | 6s | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rajasthan Royals | 62* | 46 | 134.78 | 1 | 3 | 24 Apr 2015 |
| Delhi Capitals | 12 | 11 | 109.09 | 2 | 0 | 27 Apr 2021 |
| Punjab Kings | 35 | 34 | 102.94 | 3 | 1 | 30 Apr 2021 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 7 | 8 | 87.50 | 0 | 1 | 27 May 2022 |
| Gujarat Titans | 70* | 44 | 159.09 | 6 | 3 | 28 Apr 2024 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 33 | 24 | 137.50 | 3 | 1 | 22 May 2024 |
Virat Kohli vs PBKS
Punjab Kings are also one of the favourite opponents of Virat Kohli. The RCB star has scored over 1000 runs in IPL against four teams. PBKS are one of them. Against PBKS, Kohli averages 36.00, scoring 1116 runs in 35 innings. He has also smashed a century and six half-centuries. In the last five innings against PBKS, Kohli has scores of 77 off 49, 92 off 47, 1 off 3, 73 off 54 and 12 off 12. He has scored three half-centuries in the last five innings.
- Virat Kohli batting first: Against PBKS, Kohli has scored 664 runs while batting first. In 19 innings, he has scored a century and three half-centuries.
- Batting 2nd: In the chases, Kohli has scored 452 runs in 16 innings against PBKS. He also has three half-centuries. Earlier, in IPL 2025 league stage, Kohli smashed an unbeaten 73 in Mullanpur as RCB chased down a 158-run target in 18.5 overs.
| Runs | Balls | SR | 4s | 6s | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | 36 | 94.44 | 5 | 0 | Bengaluru | 5 May 2008 |
| 21 | 22 | 95.45 | 4 | 0 | Mohali | 12 May 2008 |
| 2 | 3 | 66.66 | 0 | 0 | Durban | 24 Apr 2009 |
| 16 | 14 | 114.28 | 2 | 0 | Durban | 1 May 2009 |
| 16* | 12 | 133.33 | 1 | 1 | Bengaluru | 16 Mar 2010 |
| 42 | 26 | 161.53 | 4 | 1 | Mohali | 2 Apr 2010 |
| 27 | 31 | 87.09 | 4 | 0 | Bengaluru | 6 May 2011 |
| 11 | 11 | 100 | 2 | 0 | Dharamsala | 17 May 2011 |
| 4 | 4 | 100 | 1 | 0 | Mohali | 20 Apr 2012 |
| 45 | 42 | 107.14 | 3 | 2 | Bengaluru | 2 May 2012 |
| 14 | 14 | 100 | 1 | 0 | Mohali | 6 May 2013 |
| 57 | 43 | 132.55 | 6 | 2 | Bengaluru | 14 May 2013 |
| 4 | 2 | 200 | 1 | 0 | Dubai (DICS) | 28 Apr 2014 |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bengaluru | 9 May 2014 |
| 32 | 30 | 106.66 | 3 | 1 | Bengaluru | 6 May 2015 |
| 19 | 9 | 211.11 | 2 | 1 | Mohali | 13 May 2015 |
| 20 | 21 | 95.23 | 2 | 0 | Mohali | 9 May 2016 |
| 113 | 50 | 226 | 12 | 8 | Bengaluru | 18 May 2016 |
| 6 | 6 | 100 | 1 | 0 | Bengaluru | 5 May 2017 |
| 21 | 16 | 131.25 | 4 | 0 | Bengaluru | 13 Apr 2018 |
| 48* | 28 | 171.42 | 6 | 2 | Indore | 14 May 2018 |
| 67 | 53 | 126.41 | 8 | 0 | Mohali | 13 Apr 2019 |
| 13 | 8 | 162.5 | 2 | 0 | Bengaluru | 24 Apr 2019 |
| 1 | 5 | 20 | 0 | 0 | Dubai (DICS) | 24 Sep 2020 |
| 48 | 39 | 123.07 | 3 | 0 | Sharjah | 15 Oct 2020 |
| 35 | 34 | 102.94 | 3 | 1 | Ahmedabad | 30 Apr 2021 |
| 25 | 24 | 104.16 | 2 | 1 | Sharjah | 3 Oct 2021 |
| 41* | 29 | 141.37 | 1 | 2 | DY Patil | 27 Mar 2022 |
| 20 | 14 | 142.85 | 2 | 1 | Brabourne | 13 May 2022 |
| 59 | 47 | 125.53 | 5 | 1 | Mohali | 20 Apr 2023 |
| 77 | 49 | 157.14 | 11 | 2 | Bengaluru | 25 Mar 2024 |
| 92 | 47 | 195.74 | 7 | 6 | Dharamsala | 9 May 2024 |
| 1 | 3 | 33.33 | 0 | 0 | Bengaluru | 18 Apr 2025 |
| 73* | 54 | 135.18 | 7 | 1 | New Chandigarh | 20 Apr 2025 |
| 12 | 12 | 100 | 2 | 0 | New Chandigarh | 29 May 2025 |
