Having finally won the Indian Premier League, Virat Kohli and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru claimed their first-ever IPL championship with a slim six-run victory against the Punjab Kings.
With 43 runs for RCB, the 36-year-old Indian cricketing great, who is the only player to have played for the same franchise in every season of the competition, was the top scorer. Also aiming for their first IPL victory, the Kings fell short in their pursuit, ending their innings at 184-7.
Kohli said, “I never imagined this day would come,” which is very important for me. I have put all of my energy into this squad. Finally becoming the IPL champion is a fantastic feeling. Beginning the batting alongside England’s Phil Salt, Kohli played a key innings off 35 balls that carried RCB to 143 runs before becoming the fourth wicket to fall, caught and bowled by Azmatullah Omarzai of Afghanistan.
Arshdeep Singh grabbed three wickets in his last six deliveries, guaranteeing RCB did not exceed the 200-run barrier, but Andy Flower’s team battled to quicken in the last over despite a continuous buildup of runs.
Caught by Jitesh Sharma off Romario Shepherd, the Kings found themselves at 98-4 in the 13th over of their innings, losing their captain and star batsman Shreyas for just one run.
Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh made efforts to extend the innings. However, their effort was effectively over when both Wadhera and the explosive Marcus Stoinis were caught within the span of three deliveries from Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
With 29 runs needed from Josh Hazlewood’s last over, Shashank erupted in a flurry of runs, scoring 22 from the last four balls of the innings, putting his team tantalizingly close to their target with an undefeated score of 61. Still, Kohli and RCB could finally celebrate in a triumphant IPL season after 18 seasons and three earlier final losses; his brave attempts were finally fruitless. Kohli, who took part in the first IPL game for RCB in April 2008, has been waiting a long time.
