Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 2 (ANI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will win the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. He expressed his happiness at RCB reaching the finals.

Talking to the media, Shivakumar said, 'I am happy. Bengaluru boys RCB will win in Ahmedabad. After a very long time, they have come to the finals.'

He said that the Karnataka government and the people of the state are waiting for RCB to win an IPL trophy.

'The government of Karnataka and the people of Karnataka are waiting for their victory. A lot of people from Karnataka are going to watch the match in Ahmedabad. Let us hope and pray that they win and come back...' he said.

RCB beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 1 to make it to the finals. PBKS could only put up 101 on the board after Josh Hazlewood and Suyash Sharma picked up three wickets each. Phil Salt hit a smashing 56 off 27, chasing down the total in just 10 overs.

Meanwhile, PBKS reached the finals after beating Mumbai Indians (MI) in a thrilling chase. After MI put up 203/6 on the board, with credit to Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Verma's innings of 44 runs each, PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer led his team to victory.

Iyer scored 87* off 41 balls while Nehal Wadhera contributed 48 off 29 balls to lead their team into the finals with an over to spare.

RCB and PBKS will play the finals on June 3 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, at 7:30 pm.

Meanwhile, on the political front, DK Shivakumar also commented on actor Kamal Haasan's remarks on Kannada. Dy CM Shivakumar said that the people of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are friends, and he does not want to comment on the issue as he is unaware of its history.

'Let's not make this a political issue. We are all neighbours. We all have to work together, live together. Our water goes to Tamil Nadu, and the people of Tamil Nadu come here. We are not enemies; we are all friends...I don't want to comment on it because I don't know the history of that issue,' he said. (ANI)