What happened the last time Royal Challengers Bengaluru played a final before RCB vs PBKS IPL 2025 final?

Two of the three OG Indian Premier League (IPL) teams yet to win the title, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), are set to fight it out in the final of the 2025 edition on Tuesday, June 3, in Ahmedabad. What's guaranteed is that a new name will be etched on the IPL trophy after the Punjab Kings defeated five-time champions Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2.

PBKS and RCB have been the two most consistent sides this season, having finished the league stage in the top two. Due to their consistency in the league stage, Punjab Kings got another shot at the final after losing to RCB in Qualifier 1.

While PBKS are playing only their second IPL final, RCB have been here thrice before and will want to make it fourth-time lucky.

The Bengaluru-based side suffered a morale-shattering defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last final way back in 2016. The stage looked set for RCB to lift the trophy in front of a delirious home crowd, but that didn't materialize as SRH won the crucial moments in the game to take the trophy.

What happened when RCB met SRH in the 2016 IPL final

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner won the toss and opted to bat on the big occasion. Openers David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan started slowly before beginning to find boundaries consistently. Warner was the aggressor in the 63-run stand.

Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal to provide RCB their first breakthrough in the seventh over. Moises Henriques came in at number three, but was a mere spectator as Warner went about his business. The Australian all-rounder was dismissed in the 10th over with the score reading 97/2.

Yuvraj Singh (38 off 23) and Warner then took the attack to the RCB bowlers and succeeded. Warner was dismissed for 69 off 38 deliveries, which included eight fours and three sixes. SRH then lost Deepak Hooda as well, but it was Ben Cutting who played a knock of a lifetime.

Following Yuvraj's dismissal, Cutting went berserk in the last four overs and took the score past the 200-run mark in a jiffy. He smashed a whirlwind 15-ball 39, which included three fours and four sixes and made a massive difference to the eventual score as SRH finished on 208/7.

The run chase couldn't have begun more perfectly for RCB as the opening duo of Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli looked in the mood and smashed the SRH bowlers to all corners of the Chinnaswamy Stadium. It was Gayle who started the onslaught as RCB raced to 59/0 by the end of the powerplay. The stage was set, and they just took it a notch further in the next few overs.

In the ninth over, bowled by Moises Henriques, Kohli and Gayle smashed 21 runs to take the score to 100. Another 12-run over followed, this time Kohli taking down Mustafizur Rahman to put RCB in a commanding position.

However, the game's scenario changed when Ben Cutting got the wicket of Chris Gayle in the 11th over, creating a small opening for SRH. Kohli went on to notch up his half century but was immediately dismissed by Barinder Sran in the 13th over to crack the game open.

RCB were still ahead of the eight ball, especially with the likes of AB de Villiers and KL Rahul still out in the middle. ABD’s dismissal in the 14th over swung the pendulum towards SRH, but with KL Rahul and Watson out in the middle, RCB were still very much in the game.

Only 51 runs were required off the last five overs, with the chasing team looking likelier to cross the line. However, Ben Cutting foxed Rahul with a slower delivery, mounting further pressure on RCB. Watson was then dismissed by Mustafizur in the 17th over, and a couple of tight overs from Bhuvneshwar Kumar towards the end proved vital. RCB failed to chase down 209, falling short by eight runs.