IPL 2025 Season Review: Champions, Caps and the Moments That Mattered

The 2025 season will be remembered for one result above all others. After 17 years of near-misses, Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the IPL, beating Punjab Kings by six runs in the final in Ahmedabad. But the 18th edition of the league was about much more than one trophy. It was a season of new captains, young stars and an unexpected week-long pause.

The champions

RCB went into the season with a new captain, Rajat Patidar, and a squad rebuilt at the 2025 mega auction. The difference was balance. They had a varied seam attack, spin options for the middle overs, and batting that went deep enough that no single failure could sink them. They were outstanding away from home, winning all seven of their league games on the road.

In the final, RCB made 190 for 9, with Virat Kohli top-scoring on 43. Punjab looked well placed in the chase until Krunal Pandya took 2 for 17 in his four overs. He was named Player of the Match, and RCB held on to win by six runs.

Punjab's revival

If RCB were the story of the season, Punjab Kings were a close second. Under new captain Shreyas Iyer, who had led Kolkata to the title a year earlier, Punjab finished top of the league table and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2014. Iyer's unbeaten 87 in Qualifier 2 knocked out Mumbai Indians and took Punjab to only their second final.

Gujarat's run machine

Gujarat Titans had the season's two leading individual performers. Opener Sai Sudharsan won the Orange Cap with 759 runs, and was also named Emerging Player of the season. Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna took 25 wickets to win the Purple Cap. Gujarat finished third in the league but lost the Eliminator to Mumbai.

Two of the season's three biggest individual awards went to one Gujarat opener.

Mumbai's steady star

Mumbai Indians started slowly and recovered strongly to make the playoffs. The constant was Suryakumar Yadav, who scored more than 700 runs and was named the season's Most Valuable Player.

A 14-year-old steals the show

The single most astonishing moment came in Jaipur on 28 April. Rajasthan Royals' Vaibhav Suryavanshi, aged 14, hit a hundred off 35 balls against Gujarat. It was the second-fastest century in IPL history and made him the youngest centurion in men's T20 cricket. Read the full story.

The pause

In May, the season was suspended for about a week because of military tensions between India and Pakistan. When play resumed, the remaining fixtures were reshuffled and the final moved to Ahmedabad. It was the second time in five seasons that the IPL had been halted mid-tournament. The 2021 edition was also suspended, because of COVID-19, before finishing in the UAE.

The disappointments

For Chennai Super Kings, it was a season to forget. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out with an elbow injury early on, MS Dhoni stepped back in as captain, and Chennai finished at the bottom of the table.