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Andy Flower, Dinesh Karthik surround Virat Kohli; all three have animated chat after PBKS bowlers leave him gasping

Samira Vishwas | June 9, 2025 5:24 PM CST

Virat Kohli has featured in IPL finals before, and never has he had the highest score for his side as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru lost on all occasions. On Tuesday, as the RCB returned to the final for the first time in nine years, taking on the Punjab Kings, Kohli showed considerable signs of struggle, leaving head coach Andy Flower concerned.

Kohli, who has usually been an aggressor in the powerplay since being promoted to the opening spot in the IPL, dropped anchor in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. He managed just 13 runs off 10 balls in the powerplay, comprising a solitary boundary as the RCB scored 55 for one, riding on a fiery 9-ball 19 from Phil Salt, before Mayank Agarwal scored 24 off 17.

Over the next three overs, as RCB also lost Mayank, Kohli managed only eight more runs in as many balls. The sight left Flower and team mentor Dinesh Karthik worried as he was spotted having an animated chat with Kohli during the strategic break.

PBKS spot-on in powerplay

Punjab did their homework for the match against Bengaluru, which was evident from how they managed to keep their opponent silent. There were 12 balls that went without a boundary during the powerplay, and it resulted in Mayank Agarwal falling to Yuzvendra Chahal on the second ball in the seventh over. Even Kohli, who loves to play the cover drive, looked out of sorts against the new ball.

The key to PBKS’ bowling, especially for the quicks, was going for the good length area. Off the 15 such deliveries bowled, they conceded only 17 runs for a wicket, while the 18 shorter deliveries were smashed for 31 runs.

Earlier, PBKS won the toss and captain Shreyas Iyer opted to bowl first under the cloudy Ahmedabad skies. Both teams made no changes to their playing XI for the final.