Punjab Kings batter Nehal Wadhera took the blame on his shoulders for the franchise’s loss in the IPL 2025 final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. RCB posted 190 runs on the board whereas PBKS could only manage 184 in the run chase and thus suffered a six-run loss.
Wadhera trudged to 15 runs off 18 balls in the summit clash, and he could not get going in the all-important final. The southpaw struggled with his timing and could not deliver for the Mohali-based franchise.
However, Wadhera impressed one and all with his batting as he scored 369 runs in 15 innings at an average of 30.75 and a strike rate of 145.84 in IPL 2025. Wadhera admitted he did well throughout the season, barring the last game against RCB.
“I totally blame myself. If I had played better at that time, we could have definitely won. I won’t blame the pitch because RCB scored 190 runs. I think I was just taking the game deep, and I believe in finishing games by taking it deep. I think this was one of those days when I couldn’t finish the game. When I had to accelerate in all the tournaments, whenever I accelerated, I think it paid off except for the last game,” Wadhera told Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview.
“Some days, it doesn’t click, and I think it was the same day when it didn’t happen. But I don’t have any regrets that I was taking the game deep, and that situation was fine because the wickets were falling, but I think I could have accelerated a little more, which I have learnt and analysed,” he added.
On the other hand, the 24-year-old showered praise on Shreyas Iyer’s leadership. Iyer led from the front and played a key role in taking PBKS to their second IPL final. The Mumbai batter scored 604 runs in 17 matches at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 175.07 in the recently concluded seas.
“The way he behaves off the field, his attitude is reflected in the game and I think a good captain, his attitude, the way he speaks, the way he handles people, if he is good, he is automatically a good leader and I think he is a perfect example for that,” Wadhera said.
Wadhera would look to carry the good show in the domestic circuit.
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