IPL 2025 | Given this team my youth, prime and experience, never thought this day would come: Virat Kohli

His eyes melted everyone hearts, he fell to the ground in tears of happiness just after Josh Hazlewood had bowled the last ball of the 20th over.

“This win is as much for the fans as it is for the team,” Kohli was quoted saying to the broadcasters. “It’s been 18 long years. I’ve given this team my youth, my prime, my experience. Every single season, I’ve walked out with a heart full of hope and a mind obsessed with victory. To finally have this moment… it’s beyond belief.”

“I never thought this day would come. I was overcome with emotion the moment that last delivery was bowled. I had nothing left in me — every ounce of energy, every drop of sweat, I gave it to this cause. And tonight, it all came back full circle," he added.

In Ahmedabad, as RCB lifted its first IPL title, a former RCB legend AB de Villiers was seen hugging Kohli after the win was sealed.

“What ABD has done for the franchise is tremendous, told him ‘this is as much yours as it is ours’. He’s been the POTM most times in the franchise despite being retired for four years. He deserves to be on the podium, lifting the cup,” said Kohli.

Virat also applauded the RCB team and management for ending the team’s 18-year-old wait for an IPL title.

“This management, this group of players has been outstanding. They’ve gotten the right kind of players, match winners, people who take the game on. In the auction, a lot of people questioned our tactics. But by day two, we were very happy with what we had. And we had a lot of confidence in the strength of this group."

"I want to give a big shout out to this team. It would not have been possible without each and every one in the squad, in the playing XI, the management backing the players, keeping us positive throughout when the going got tough,” Kohli signed off.