For Virat Kohli, winning IPL 2025 was made more special by the presence of two former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) talismans, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle. The trio, dubbed RCB's holy trinity when they played together, couldn't hold back their emotions as they revelled in the afterglow of a maiden IPL triumph, beating Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs in Ahmedabad.
As the three got together for a quick chat with the broadcasters, they belted out a new version of the old RCB chant. From 'Ee sala cup namde' (this time the cup will be ours) to "Ee sala, cup namdu!" (This time this cup is ours)."
"What he's done for the franchise has been absolutely tremendous," Kohli said of de Villiers, his RCB colleague for a decade, with whom he had scripted many memorable batting performances. "I told him that before the game as well that this one is as much yours as it is ours and I want you to celebrate with us when we lift that trophy at the end of the night. Because what he's done for RCB is so very special.
"He's got the maximum number of Man-of-the-Match awards and he's been retired for four years now. That tells you the impact he's had on this team, on this league, for me as a person, our friendship.
"What he means for the people of Bangalore, to this team, to this franchise is something I cannot describe in words, so I said he deserves to be on that podium, lifting that cup with all of us tonight."
De Villiers stood just outside the boundary, waiting to begin his broadcasting duties after the game, as Josh Hazlewood began the final over with 28 runs to defend. Kohli revealed watching de Villiers standing there made the winning moment even more special.
"Oh man, you know what was more special was having you right at the boundary line in the last two overs," Kohli told de Villiers. "And I told him, 'I'm going to go, it's too much to take'. And when Hoff [Hazlewood] bowled that second ball and it didn't go for six, they needed five sixes. I was gone. I don't know how I held back the tears for the last three balls of the innings. But you know how it feels. And he [Gayle] knows how it feels."
Dressed in a red turban [in support of PBKS] and RCB's jersey, Gayle hugged Kohli, speaking of the disbelief that an 18-year jinx had finally been broken. "Eighteen years, man," Gayle said with a big smile. "What a lucky number, man. You know what? I'm happy for you, man. And I am for you. And I'm happy for the franchise."
Kohli stepped in. "You know, for me, why it's so special to is share it with these two is because I've shared my prime years with them," he said. "And I know how much we tried to win this. And we felt we were so close a couple of times [in 2011 and 2016]. And we were such a good team. And we had that explosiveness in our team. But we could never cross the line.
"And all of us have that hurt because we gave our prime years to this franchise. And we really, really, from the bottom of our heart, we wanted to win that title for RCB. And I promise you, this feels like ten times more special just because of the fact that these two are standing next to us.
"And it's honestly as much theirs as it's mine. Because the connection, you see, when they come to Bangalore, it's not just me. When they come, you see how people love them. And they go absolutely berserk because they know and they appreciate that they've given their heart and soul for this team till the time they played here.
"And they deserve it as much as I do. I know people are emotional and they've giving it everything as well. So it's equally theirs too."