Irfan Pathan makes a vicious jab at Virat Kohli for his slow knock during RCB vs. PBKS in the IPL 2025 Final

The way that Virat Kohli handled the off-pace short deliveries that were thrown to him during the IPL 2025 Finals between the Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Ahmedabad appeared to disappoint Irfan Pathan. On the fifth ball of the 15th over of the first innings, Kohli was out for 43 off 35.

Irfan bowled to the RCB’s top batsman, highlighting PBKS’ approach. On a surface that was comparatively batting-friendly at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, it seemed like the cricketer-turned-commentator was not happy with Kohli’s strike rate. In the Afghan’s third over of the evening, the star batsman was removed by Azmatullah Omarzai.

“They continued to bowl Virat Kohli slow, short balls. Irfan posted on his X (previously Twitter) handle, “This pitch’s strike rate of 123 after 35 balls is disappointing.”

They kept bowling short and slow balls to Virat Kohli. Strike rate of 123 after 35 balls on this pitch is disappointing.

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) June 3, 2025

Over the course of his 35-ball knock, Virat Kohli didn’t appear to be his typical flowing self.

He hit just three fours in his innings. Following Phil Salt (16 off nine), Mayank Agarwal (24 off 18), and Rajat Patidar (26 off 16), Virat Kohli was the fourth wicket to fall for the RCB.

The short-ball strategy has been employed against Kohli previously. The way the Australians bowled at him in the second semifinal of the 2015 Cricket World Cup is one notable example. After being continuously hit by short balls during that match in Sydney, almost ten years ago, Kohli left for a 13-ball one.

In reference to the match, RCB finished their innings with 190/9. It’s interesting to note that Kohli’s 43 (35) was the Patidar-led team’s highest score. Near the conclusion of the innings, Jitesh Sharma (24 off 10) and Romario Shepherd (17 off 9) made useful cameos.

Regarding PBKS, Kyle Jamieson (3/48 in four overs) and Arshdeep Singh (3/40 in four overs) split the team’s six wickets. The most outstanding bowler for PBKS was Vijaykumar Vyshak (1/30 in four overs), but Azmatullah Omarzai also made a huge impression with his spell in the middle overs, which also resulted in PBKS getting Kohli’s breakthrough.