"Virat was going a little slow" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli's knock in IPL 2025 final

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that Virat Kohli played a slow knock in the IPL 2025 final between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Punjab Kings (PBKS). He pointed out that the RCB opener's innings seemingly put his team behind the eight ball.

Kohli consumed 35 deliveries for his 43 runs as RCB set PBKS a 191-run target in the IPL 2025 final in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, June 3. The Rajat Patidar-led side then restricted Shreyas Iyer and company to 184/7 to register a six-run win and bag the franchise's maiden IPL trophy.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener opined that Kohli wasn't scoring at the required pace before he fell prey to Azmatullah Omarzai in the IPL 2025 final.

"Azmatullah Omarzai dismissed Virat Kohli. He ran and took the catch as well. Virat was going a little slow. It's true that if 190 runs are scored, and your strike rate is around 120, obviously, at that point in time, you start feeling that he is slightly behind the eight ball, that he is not running at that pace," he said (6:20).

However, Chopra termed Kohli the destiny's child, highlighting that his slow knock didn't prove counterproductive in the end.

"However, I always call Virat the destiny's child. He might not have scored runs in the entire tournament, but he comes to the final, becomes the Player of the Match, and wins that World Cup (T20 World Cup 2024). If it's a World Cup match against Pakistan, it brings the best out of him. All things happen in such a way that Virat Kohli is always there. Sometimes, it's in your destiny, and that's exactly what happened," he observed.

RCB were 131/4 after 14.5 overs when Virat Kohli was dismissed. Jitesh Sharma (24 off 10), Liam Livingstone (25 off 15) and Romario Shepherd (17 off 9) then played crucial cameos to take their team to a competitive total.

---

"He himself admitted that he never thought this would happen" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli winning IPL 2025 title

Virat Kohli and RCB bagged their maiden IPL trophy. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Virat Kohli would be filled with gratitude that he could finally bag an IPL trophy that had remained elusive for 17 years.

"The slow knock too didn't hurt the team in the end, because what matters is how it ended. It ended with a trophy and tears in your eyes. It might have ended with a lot of gratitude, that god has been very, very kind. He himself admitted that he never thought this would happen, because when you are heartbroken so many times, you feel it won't happen at all," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that the former RCB captain had a 'phenomenal' run with the bat in IPL 2025, barring probably the final, with the hard yards he has put in over the years finally bearing fruit.

"You feel you will keep trying every year, and this will remain an unfulfilled dream, because no one gets everything in life. However, since Virat is destiny's child, he has got everything and a bit more. Virat Kohli was absolutely phenomenal throughout the tournament. May not be in the final as much, but the hard work over so many years has eventually yielded dividends," Chopra observed.

Virat Kohli was RCB's highest run-getter in IPL 2025. He amassed 657 runs at a strike rate of 144.71 in 15 innings this season.