Virat Kohli ended his 18-year-long wait to win his maiden IPL title when Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL 2025 final on June 3. Both teams have been part of IPL since its inception. RCB pipped PBKS to win the title for the first time.

Virat Kohli has been with RCB since the first game of the tournament and his wait finally came to an end after 18 years. Sharing his take on RCB's title win, Virender Sehwag said that Virat's wait was shorter than Sachin Tendulkar's wait for a World Cup trophy.

Sachin, who made his India debut in 1989, finally won the 50-over World Cup in 2011. The final was played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. "His (Kohli’s) wait to win the trophy is only 18 years. Sachin Tendulkar waited from 1989 to 2011. So, Kohli’s wait was shorter, and even Sachin never lost hope. He had made up his mind that he would only bow out with a World Cup trophy in his hand," Sehwag told Cricbuzz.

Sehwag added that Virat will now be relieved and can happily stop playing whenever he wants. "It’s the same for Virat Kohli. Now, he can be relieved. He can happily stop playing IPL whenever he wants to make that decision. A player plays to win the trophy. Money comes and goes, but winning trophies isn’t easy. Even as Kohli’s wait ended, he has still made a very strong contribution in their campaign," the former India opener added.

Virat played a crucial role in RCB's title win in the final and scored 43 off 35 balls. He was RCB's highest run-scorer in the total of 190/9. Krunal Pandya delivered a Player of the Final performance and scalped 2 wickets for just 17 runs in his 4 overs. RCB had finished in the second position in the points table and made it to the final with a win over PBKS in the first qualifier.

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