Fans at Narendra Modi Stadium chant 'RCB, RCB' towards closing stages of PBKS vs MI IPL 2025 Qualifier 2 [Watch]
A very small section of fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad broke into 'RCB, RCB' chants during the final moments of the IPL 2025 Qualifier 2 between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday, June 1. Punjab clinched a stunning five-wicket win in the clash to set up a final with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
PBKS needed 23 runs to win off the final 12 balls. Skipper Shreyas Iyer took his team home in an authoritative fashion, hammering four sixes off left-arm pacer Ashwani Kumar in the 19th over.
Iyer remained unbeaten on 87 off 41 deliveries as PBKS chased the 204-run target with six balls to spare. The Punjab-based side booked a spot in an IPL final for the first time since 2014.
Interestingly, during the penultimate over, some fans at the stadium started chanting for RCB. Here's a video of the incident:
Iyer was adjudged the Player of the Match for his heroics. It is worth mentioning that PBKS became the first-ever team to successfully chase a 200-plus target against MI in the competition's history.
"Going to be a pretty big crowd" - PBKS bowling coach expects huge support for RCB and Virat Kohli in IPL 2025 final
PBKS bowling coach James Hopes suggested Bengaluru will have the backing of the Ahmedabad crowd due to the Virat Kohli factor. He emphasized that the Punjab-based side needed to be mentally prepared to play in front of the 'pro-Kohli crowd'.
Hopes' comments came during the post-match press conference of the IPL 2025 Qualifier 2. He was quoted as saying by Sports Tak:
"It's just a short turnaround for us, we've finished at 2 am which is pretty late so tomorrow will be just about the guys recovering and getting mentally prepared for what I imagine is going to be a pretty big crowd and a pretty big pro-Kohli crowd as well."
A new IPL champion is set to be crowned as one of Bengaluru and Punjab will lay their hands on the coveted trophy for the first time. The summit clash takes place in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, June 3.