RCB’s maiden IPL crown to Indian Women’s World Cup triumph:South Africa ditched ‘chokers’ tag; why 2025 was ‘a year of firsts’

The year 2025 is coming to an end, and looking back, it has been a very memorable one for sports. It was a year of several historic victories, those which will be remembered for a long, long time to come. The year 2025 has been a year of firsts with several sports teams winning their maiden trophies, or we can term it as ‘the year of long-lost dreams getting fulfilled.’ Leading the charge, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won their first-ever IPL title, ending an 18-year-wait. The Indian women’s cricket team finally attained ICC glory when the Harmanpreet Kaur-led team lifted the Women’s World Cup on a historic night in Navi Mumbai. Football teams like PSG and Tottenham Hotspur also ended their title droughts. RCB end 18-year wait for IPL title Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won the IPL (Indian Premier League) title for the very first time, ending a long wait of 18 years. The franchise had been at the receiving end of jokes and trolls as they never could win the IPL despite possessing some of the best players. But history was rewritten in 2025 when the team, under the captaincy of Rajat Patidar, won the IPL title. RCB defeated Punjab Kings by six runs in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 3 June to win the title. Not just this, but RCB also scripted the record of becoming the first team to win all away matches in a season. Virat Kohli, one of the most decorated cricketers in history, finally won the one trophy that he could not claim throughout his decorated career. Also read: Records broken by Virat Kohli in 2025:Fastest Indian to score 14,000 ODI runs, completes 1,000 runs in ICC knockouts India win historic maiden ICC Women’s World Cup title The Indian women’s cricket team won the ICC Women’s World Cup for the very first time in 2025. Harmanpreet Kaur and her team had often failed to capitalise crucial moments during ICC tournaments, and despite coming close, never won any ICC title. Notably, India had previously already made it to the 2005 and 2017 Women’s World Cup finals but could not claim the crown.
All that changed on 2 November when Harmanpreet Kaur and her team defeated South Africa by 52 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Batting first, India scored 298/7 riding on Shafali Verma’s 87 and Deepti Sharma’s 58. In response, South Africa were bowled out for 246 with Deepti taking a five-wicket haul. South Africa overcame the ‘chokers’ tag, ending their ICC title drought The year 2025 also saw South Africa end their long wait for winning an ICC title. The Proteas, despite having some of the best players and being labelled favourites, have, over the years, been called ‘chokers’ as they stumbled in the knockout phases of ICC tournaments. But that narrative was completely changed in 2025. The Temba Bavuma-led South African team defeated heavyweights Australia to win the ICC World Test Championship trophy in June 2025. Chasing a target of 282 in the final, the Proteas got past the finish line by five wickets. This was South Africa’s first ICC title since the 1998 Champions Trophy, ending a 27-year-wait. Also read: From Asia Cup handshake, trophy row to RCB stampede:Top 10 cricket controversies that highlighted 2025; when sport made headlines for wrong reasons Divya Deshmukh: First Indian woman to win Chess World Cup India has come a long way since the legendary Viswanathan Anand became the country’s first Grandmaster in 1988. A starry-eyed teenager, Divya Deshmukh, winning the Women’s Chess World Cup in faraway Batumi this year, showcased India’s unfathomable depth of talent in the sport.
Divya not only became the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women’s World Cup, but she also instantly secured the prestigious Grandmaster title, bypassing the usual “norms” required to earn it. PSG win maiden UEFA Champions League trophy Coming onto football, PSG won the UEFA Champions League title for the very first time in history. The French giants have often carried the tag of favourites in the Champions League, but before this season, could never get their hands on the European title. PSG put up a dominant show in the final, beating Inter Milan 5-0 to win the UEFA Champions League. Achraf Hakimi (12′), Désiré Doué (20′, 63′), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (73′) and Senny Mayulu (86′) were the goal-scorers for PSG on that historic night in Munich. Tottenham Hotspur win first title after 17 years Another first of the year was Tottenham Hotspur beating Manchester United 1-0 in the Europa League Final. The victory secured the Spurs their first title in 17 years. Athletic Bilbao’s Estadio de San Mamés was full of tears of joy at the full-time whistle as the team abolished the reputation for not being capable enough to challenge for silverware. Harry Kane puts full stop to title of ‘nearly’, wins 1st major career trophy The nearly man, Harry Kane, scripted history as he lifted his first major team trophy after Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga championship for a 33rd time in May 2025. The Englishman had previously lost six finals, twice with England in UEFA European Championships (2021 and 2024) and three times with Tottenham Hotspur: once in the UEFA Champions League and twice in the EFL Cup. Jharkhand win maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Jharkhand won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for the very first time in history. The Ishan Kishan-led side produced a sensational performance to beat Haryana by 69 runs in a high-scoring final. Batting first, Ishan scored a blazing 101 off just 49 balls while Kumar Kushagra hit 81 off 38 deliveries as Jharkhand scored a mammoth 262/3. In response, Jharkhand bowled out Haryana for 193 runs, with Sushant Mishra and Bal Krishna taking three wickets each. GFX by Anas Shakir