It took a redoubtable Delhi batting giant, Virat Kohli, to persevere, remain loyal, and play a crucial role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) winning the elusive Indian Premier League (IPL) title, breaking a 17-year hoodoo. Having been runners-up thrice — in 2009, 2011, and 2016 — RCB, under a new captain, Rajat Patidar, broke the jinx in style. They defeated Punjab Kings, also seeking their maiden IPL title, by six runs in Ahmedabad on June 3.
Kohli, a former RCB captain who gave up the responsibility to concentrate on his batting, has been the lone constant factor for RCB in all these 18 years since the launch of the IPL in 2008. Many players have come and gone, but Kohli — despite having admitted to a few momentary thoughts of switching teams — has remained loyal and committed to the franchise.
Of the three finals that RCB lost, Kohli was captain in 2016, when his formidable team lost a close match to SunRisers Hyderabad by eight runs. That team had stalwarts like Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, KL Rahul, and Shane Watson. But a middle-order collapse followed a solid 114-run opening wicket partnership between Kohli (54 off 35 balls) and Gayle (76 off 38) in 11 overs. The capitulation meant that the team eventually fell short of the 209-run target on their home turf, Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Overall, RCB have made the playoff stage six times.
Kohli chose to give up the RCB captaincy after the 2021 IPL to concentrate fully on his strongest skill set — batting. Faf du Plessis succeeded him, and Kohli continued to give his all under the South African and now Patidar, besides this season’s stand-in captain, Jitesh Sharma.
“It’s been 18 long years. I’ve given this team my youth, my prime and my experience. I’ve tried to win this every season when I come, giving it everything I have. To have this moment is an unbelievable feeling,” a teary-eyed 36-year-old Kohli said after the triumph, watched by his wife, Anushka Sharma, from the ringside.
“I never thought this day would come,” he said candidly, conceding a little bit of negativity he had in his mind. “I was overcome with emotion as soon as the last ball was bowled. This means so much to me. I’ve given every ounce of my energy to this team. To have finally won the IPL is an amazing feeling.”
In Tuesday’s final, Kohli was the top scorer for his team with a 35-ball 43 — the second-highest of the match, behind Punjab Kings’ Shashank Singh’s 61 not out off 30 balls.
Besides Kohli, the other Delhiite who played a significant role for RCB was the diminutive but aggressive leg-spinner Suyash Sharma, who overcame three hernia operations just before the IPL to play. He bagged eight wickets in 14 matches at a respectable economy rate of 8.84.
Consistent show
This season, RCB performed consistently. Of the 14 league matches, they won nine, lost four, and one was washed out. In Qualifier 1 of the playoffs, RCB pummelled Punjab Kings by eight wickets to reach the final. However, the Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings then beat star-studded Mumbai Indians to make it to the title round.
Kohli led the RCB charge with his bat, scoring 657 runs — the third-highest tally in the tournament. In 15 matches, he smashed eight half-centuries at a handsome strike rate of 144.71 and at a very good average of 54.75. Had one league match not been washed out, who knows, he might have overtaken top scorer Gujarat Titans’ B Sai Sudharsan’s 759.
Kohli’s commitment to his primary task — besides electrifying fielding and safe catching — proved correct his decision to abdicate captaincy and focus on his batting.
Loyal to the core
Kohli is known to always give his all to whichever team he represents — be it Delhi, India, or RCB. So, it comes as no surprise that a hardcore Delhiite gave his best shot to a franchise based thousands of kilometres away from his home city.
“This is far more special than winning it with anyone else, because my heart is with Bengaluru; my soul is with Bengaluru. As I said, this is the team I’m going to play for till the last day I play the IPL. So, this one [the IPL title] is absolutely right up there,” he said after the final.
The RCB triumph was built on many ‘imports’ from different parts of India, including captain Patidar, who comes from Indore, besides the foreigners. And, unsurprisingly, Patidar was also happy for Kohli. “For me, it’s a great opportunity to do captaincy under him, and it was a great learning experience for me. And as I said, I think he deserves more than anyone else who has supported everyone — the management, support staff, and coaching staff,” Patidar, who scored 312 runs in 14 innings, said.
Kohli has already quit India captaincy and retired — first from T20 Internationals and then, recently, from Test cricket. He now plays only One-Day Internationals.
Heartbreak for Punjab
Punjab Kings, under a new coach (Ricky Ponting) and a new captain (Iyer), were the most consistent team, along with RCB, in the league stage. Both teams won nine matches and lost four, but Punjab Kings finished on top owing to their slightly better net run rate (0.372) than RCB’s (0.301).
By virtue of finishing atop the 10-team leaderboard, Punjab Kings played Qualifier 1, the winner of which directly reaches the final. However, RCB dealt a heavy blow to the Punjab team, who then recovered to get the better of the Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2 — the lifeline for the loser of Qualifier 1 — and reach the finals.
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Shreyas, who captained Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title last season, led the team admirably and by example. In 17 matches, he scored consistently and tallied 604 runs, including six half-centuries, at an excellent strike rate of 175.07. But when it mattered most, his team fumbled in the final, with the captain himself failing with the bat — a rarity.
Highs and lows
Mumbai Indians finished third and Gujarat Titans fourth, followed by Delhi Capitals, SunRisers Hyderabad, Lucknow Super Giants, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, and Chennai Super Kings on the points table.
Some of the important prize winners were: Suryakumar Yadav (Most Valuable Player of the Season with 717 runs in 16 matches), B Sai Sudharsan (Orange Cap winner with 759 runs), Kamindu Mendis of SunRisers Hyderabad (Catch of the Season), M Prasidh Krishna of Gujarat Titans (Purple Cap winner with 25 wickets), Chennai Super Kings (Fairplay Award), Sai Sudharsan (Emerging Player of the Season), Vaibhav Suryavanshi (Super Striker of the Season), and Gujarat Titans’ Mohammed Siraj (Most Dot Balls of the Season).
