Revisiting RCB's four previous appearances in a T20 final before IPL 2025 ft. 2016

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) made it to the final of the IPL 2025 for the first time since 2016. The Bangalore-based outfit defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 1 on Thursday, May 29, to seal a berth in the final.

Though RCB don’t know who their opponents in the title clash will be, they’ll be geared up to get their hands on a first-ever IPL trophy, having struggled to win the championship over the last 17 years. Ever since the 2025 edition of the cash-rich event began, there has been one question on every RCB fan’s mind: Will No. 18 (Virat Kohli) be able to win the 18th IPL?

This will be RCB’s fifth T20 final, with the franchise having made it to three IPL and one CLT20 finals in the past. In this article, we look at RCB’s previous four T20 final appearances:

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#4 RCB vs Deccan Chargers, IPL 2009 Final

RCB made it to the final in the second edition of the tournament and faced the now-defunct Deccan Chargers (DC), led by Adam Gilchrist. Batting first, DC posted 143/6 on board, with their opener Herschelle Gibbs scoring an unbeaten 53 off 48 deliveries.

Andrew Symonds (33 off 21) and Rohit Sharma (24 off 23) were the other two batters who scored decently, while RCB skipper Anil Kumble picked up a four-wicket haul.

RCB, while chasing the total, kept losing wickets at regular intervals. With 15 runs needed off the final over to win and just one wicket in hand, DC managed to restrict their opponents to 137/9, eventually winning their maiden title.

RCB, in their first-ever IPL final, lost the title to Deccan Chargers.

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#3 RCB vs Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2011 Final

In their second IPL final, RCB faced the then-defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the 2011 edition held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk). Against MS Dhoni’s side, they faced the challenging task of chasing a humongous target as CSK posted an impressive 205/5 batting first.

Attempting to chase the daunting total, RCB managed to reach 147/8 in their 20 overs as CSK successfully defended their title, winning the IPL for the second time. Saurabh Tiwary’s 42* was the top score for RCB, followed by Virat Kohli’s 35(32). Ravichandran Ashwin was the standout bowler for CSK, taking 3/16 in four overs.

With that, RCB lost the IPL final for a second time.

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#2 RCB vs Mumbai Indians, CLT20 2011 Final

After their 2011 IPL final loss to CSK, RCB made it to the summit clash of the CLT20 that year, facing Mumbai Indians at the same venue in Chennai. Their bowlers performed admirably, restricting MI to a low score of 139 in 20 overs, setting up an achievable target.

While it appeared to be a likely win for RCB, events took an unexpected turn. Harbhajan Singh-led MI bowled out the Daniel Vettori-led side for just 108 in 19.2 overs, thanks to the bowlers working well together.

RCB fell 31 runs short of the target and lost the CLT20 title.

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#1 RCB vs SunRisers Hyderabad, IPL 2016 Final

RCB’s last IPL final appearance before 2025 was in 2016, where the Virat Kohli-led side faced David Warner’s SRH. Winning the toss, SRH chose to bat first and put up a substantial score of 208/7, with their batters delivering a final-worthy performance.

Skipper Warner led from the front, scoring 69 off 38, while Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, and Ben Cutting also made significant contributions.

RCB started their chase strongly, with Chris Gayle and Kohli sharing a fantastic opening partnership of 114 runs before Gayle was dismissed in the 11th over. What followed was a remarkable collapse as RCB’s batting order fell apart.

Despite losing wickets, the batters fought hard until the final over, needing 18 runs off the last six deliveries. Sachin Baby did his best to push the team across the finish line, but a wicket in the final over by Bhuvneshwar Kumar dashed RCB’s hopes as they lost the IPL final for a third time.

Now, making it to the IPL summit clash for the fourth time in 18 years of the league’s existence, RCB remain hopeful of finally breaking their trophy drought.