On a night when history was written in gold for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, it wasn’t just the team and their fans celebrating. Global rap superstar Drake had his own reason to raise a toast. The Canadian artist won a staggering $1.3 million (around rupees 11 crore) after placing a daring $750,000 (approx. rupees 6.4 crore) bet on RCB to win the IPL 2025 final and they delivered.RCB defeated Punjab Kings by six runs in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, finally ending an 18-year-long wait for the title. It was a nervy, emotional, and unforgettable night, one that may also have finally broken the infamous ‘Drake Curse’ in sport.Asked to bat first, RCB managed a fighting total of 190/9 despite never quite shifting gears. Virat Kohli led the scoring with a gritty 43 off 35 balls, while cameos from Mayank Agarwal (24), Rajat Patidar (26), and Liam Livingstone (25) ensured the innings didn’t collapse. Phil Salt’s early dismissal slowed momentum, and Punjab’s Kyle Jamieson applied further pressure with three crucial wickets.The death overs saw a mini fightback, with Jitesh Sharma’s 24 off 10 briefly threatening to tilt the game, but RCB fell short of a par total on what remained a good batting surface. Arshdeep Singh ended the innings with a clinical final over, picking up three wickets and limiting RCB’s acceleration.
What followed was a tense defence. Josh Hazlewood set the tone with the early wicket of Priyansh Arya, brilliantly supported by Phil Salt’s stunning boundary catch. Prabhsimran Singh (26) and Josh Inglis (39 off 23) kept Punjab alive, but regular wickets derailed their chase. Krunal Pandya’s miserly 4-0-17-2 and Romario Shepherd’s prized scalp of captain Shreyas Iyer swung momentum decisively in RCB’s favour.Still, Punjab fought. Shashank Singh’s valiant 61* off 30 balls brought them close, needing 29 off the final over. But Hazlewood held his nerve, delivering back-to-back dot balls to end the drama. PBKS closed on 184/7 — heartbreak once again for the perennial underachievers.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player?Drake’s bet, placed on crypto-betting platform Stake at 1.75 odds, stood out for more than its value. Known for inadvertently jinxing athletes and teams with his public support — the so-called ‘Drake Curse’ — fans feared the worst for RCB after learning of the wager. From Serena Williams to Conor McGregor, teams backed by the rapper often fell just short.But on this night, cricket proved to be the exception. RCB fans may have started uneasy, but by the end, even they were thanking Drake for his faith.
