Bollywood actress and RCB icon Virat Kohli’s wife, Anushka Sharma, was once again spotted cheering passionately from the stands as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) stormed into the IPL 2025 final. But this time, it wasn’t just the on-field action or Anushka’s support that caught attention — her close friend seated next to her also became a trending topic across social media platforms.
Who Is Anushka’s Mysterious Companion?
The woman spotted beside Anushka throughout the match was Malavika Nayak, who is not new to the RCB camp. A longtime friend of Anushka, Malavika has been seen before — most notably during RCB’s match against Lucknow Super Giants. Interestingly, her husband, Nikhil Sosale, has deep ties to RCB. He has a background with Diageo, the company that owns the franchise, and now handles branding and publicity for RCB.
As the cameras repeatedly panned to the duo during the game, their celebratory moments after the match lit up the internet. One fan on X even commented,
“𝑨𝒏𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒌𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝑰𝑷𝑳 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏!”
RCB Dominate Punjab Kings to Seal Spot in IPL 2025 Final
On the field, it was a one-sided affair at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, where RCB decimated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by eight wickets. Winning the toss turned out to be a game-changer as Suyash Sharma (3/17) and Josh Hazlewood (3/21) unleashed a brutal bowling spell, skittling PBKS for just 101 runs in 14.1 overs. Supporting acts from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, and Romario Shepherd helped seal PBKS’s collapse.
RCB made light work of the chase, thanks to Phil Salt’s explosive 56 off 27 balls*, which included his fastest IPL half-century in just 23 deliveries. With 10 overs to spare, Bengaluru crossed the finish line and sealed a ticket to their fourth IPL final, which will be played on June 3 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
PBKS, on the other hand, will get a second chance to reach the final when they play the Qualifier 2 against the winner of the Eliminator match.
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