Ahmedabad: Outclassed in 2011, falling agonisingly short by six runs in 2009, losing by eight runs in 2016, 2025 was finally their time. In front of a 91,419-strong crowd in Ahmedabad, predominantly supporting their franchise, Royal Challengers Bengaluru pulled off a thrifty bowling performance to successfully defend 190 and end a 17-year wait for an Indian Premier League (IPL) title.
Much like English football fans stay wedded to the catchphrase “It’s coming home” in the hope of a Cup win, RCB supporters have had “Ee Sala Cup Namade” as their battle cry, which was finally answered on Tuesday night against Punjab Kings.
No longer will Virat Kohli remain a king without the crown. He was shedding tears of joy by the time Josh Hazlewood successfully defended 29 runs in the final over. The victory margin was only six runs, but those boundaries at the end didn’t matter.
He had a title to show after 17 years of perspiration. It’s only fair that AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle were watching from the stands and later celebrated with the RCB players. Both were leading architects of RCB’s fandom.
Finals are cruel. Ecstasy to one side leaves the other team in agony. In a tournament like IPL, ten weeks of blood, sweat and tears count for nothing once the final is lost. It was PBKS’ turn to be left agonising. This was only their second final in IPL history, and they will have to wait longer to lay hands on the trophy.
Approaching the halfway mark in Punjab’s run chase, with Shreyas Iyer having joined Josh Inglis, the asking rate was still in check. There were anxious faces in the RCB dug out. Suyash Sharma, their wrist spinner, had been unexpectedly taken down for an expensive first over.
Just then, Romario Shepherd was introduced to prevent Iyer from teeing off against spin, and the West Indies was the one to provide the most important breakthrough. Iyer (1), the man in form and RCB’s biggest threat, had edged one to the ‘keeper.
In matches of reckoning, with legacies to be made, destinies on the line, you can never safely predict who in the park is experiencing jangling nerves. Nehal Wadhera, who had shown he had all the strokes, was suddenly unable to hit the ball past the circle.
The experienced Krunal Pandya was all over him. In the bargain, Krunal would force Inglis to take extra risk, and the Australian would have to depart on 39 (23b).
In delight, Kohli was leaping in the air while the rest of his RCB teammates mobbed Krunal with high-fives and fist pumps. Krunal, who had tasted success with MI in 2017 would finish with figures of 4-0-17-2, gold dust in a match where the rest of the bowlers had gone for plenty.
PBKS openers rode their luck in the Powerplay. Prabhsimran Singh’s catch was spilled in the deep by Shepherd. Hazlewood went with hard length and high pace in the early overs. Priyansh Arya didn’t look in control against the Aussie speedster and was ultimately caught on 17 at the deep square leg fence by Phil Salt in spectacular fashion. At 52/1 it wasn’t the usual forceful Powerplay for PBKS. Then again, this wasn’t your usual league match.
When RCB came out to bat, it was Kohli’s responsibility to force the issue as much it was the aggressive Salt’s. PBKS inflicted a blow to RCB by sending back the big-hitting opener in the second over. Salt, who had flown in early morning after becoming a father, had begun without a trace of nerves as he went after Arshdeep Singh in the first over. It took the calm of Iyer to catch a Salt skier on 16. Salt’s early wicket meant that despite Mayank Agarwal’s constant show of intent, RCB only managed 55/1 in the Powerplay.
After Agarwal’s dismissal, RCB tried to keep the boundary flow going in the form of Rajat Patidar. The RCB captain was able to attack Yuzvendra Chahal in his early overs, but he too fell at an inopportune time for the team, trapped in front by Kyle Jamieson in an over full of slower balls. At the back end of the tournament, slower balls had been doing magic, in producing wickets as well as keeping a check on scoring.
Although Kohli’s play has improved against slow bowling in the middle overs, he’s still not very good at it. In a pressure game, was there a case for Kohli to try and bat deep?
Somewhere in that conundrum, PBKS were able to push through many inexpensive overs. From the time Patidar (26 -16b) was dismissed in the 11th over to Kohli’s dismissal on 43 (35b) in the 15th, RCB managed only 35 runs in 19 balls. A proper middle overs slowdown inflicted by PBKS pacers.
RCB batters freed up to go on the attack after Kohli’s fall. The 17th over went for 22 runs. But PBKS would wrest some of the initiative back with four wickets in the final two overs. Though 190 was not a total to put the outcome beyond doubt, it proved sufficient in the end.
