Kohli hit an unbeaten 75 in the chase. © BCCI/IPL
In a nutshell
For 361 days, Royal Challengers Bengaluru strutted around as first-time IPL champions. On the 362nd evening, they walked into the biggest cricket stadium in the country and got their hands on the trophy again – putting Rajat Patidar on a rarefied pedestal, occupied only by MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma as captains winning back-to-back IPL titles.
RCB returned to the venue of their previous conquest and did it all over again – this time against the team with their home base in Ahmedabad and a fairly good understanding of the conditions there. That didn’t matter on the biggest night of the season as RCB bowled well into the pitch, clipped GT’s wings and then had Kohli in his run-chasing element amidst a few hiccups. Kohli, the most-capped IPL player, chose this stage of his career, and a fabulous occasion, to score his fastest IPL fifty (off 25 balls) to drive his team past the finish line, and up to the podium.
Match in phases
| Phases | GT | RCB | Run-Rate (GT/RCB) | 4s/6s (GT – RCB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powerplay | 45/2 | 70/2 | 7.5/11.67 | 8/0 – 9/4 |
| Middle-overs | 60/3 | 69/3 | 6.67/7.67 | 2/2 – 7/2 |
| Death overs | 50/3 | 22/0 | 10/7.33 | 5/1 – 2/1 |
Brief Scores: Gujarat Titans 155/8 in 20 overs [Washington Sundar 50* (37); Rasikh Dar 3-27, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-29] lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 161/5 in 18 overs [Virat Kohli 75* (42); Rashid Khan 2-25] by 5 wickets
Wind knocked out of GT’s sails early
Patidar went against the big-game convention at the toss to bowl first in a final at a venue bouncing with noise, but his new-ball bowlers backed him up. Sai Sudharsan flicked and drove a couple of fours, and survived a caught behind call through a review against Jacob Duffy, but RCB’s seasoned pros Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood made the big dents in the Powerplay. There was a hint of slowness to the pitch and the quicks saw merit in bowling short and back-of-length – Hazlewood got Shubman to miscue a pull to mid-on and Bhuvneshwar had Sudharsan caught behind by Jitesh Sharma who had to cover some ground to his right to take the catch. The six-less Powerplay finished with Nishant Sindhu and Jos Buttler dragging the team to 45/2.
RCB push on harder
A Rasikh Salam cross-seam delivery came with Sindhu’s name on it, as he found Devdutt Padikkal at long-on to walk off for an uneventful 18-ball 20. The batting struggle was real and unending – GT went without a four or six for 35 balls since the last delivery of the Powerplay as Krunal Pandya slipped in frugal overs in a bunch. Through this period, he once again showed his IPL final pedigree, taking out Buttler.
Arshad Khan walked in, promoted to push back, and hit a six – the first of the innings in the 13th over. Washington then injected life into the docile innings with a couple of fours and Arshad hit another six in a 16-run 14th over. But Patidar wasted no time in putting his foot on the pedal again as he brought back Hazlewood who once again hit the hard length and had Arshad caught at short fine leg.
Hope rekindled at the death
Rasikh Salam took out Rahul Tewatia in the 16th over and Bhuvneshwar used another short ball to send Jason Holder back, but Washington Sundar fought on to give his team a total to work with. He carted Hazlewood for three fours in the 18th over and brought up a 37-ball fify in the final over, dragging the team past 150.
VK vs KG gets RCB going
Virat Kohli’s shot catalogue in the Powerplay was – as the popular gif goes – absolute cinema. The pinnacle of this batting exhibition came on the third ball of the fourth over – Rabada sent down a full ball at 155 clicks and Kohli’s bottom hand entered the scene, a murderous whippy flick sending the ball flying over mid-wicket for a six. Lengths then got shorter and the pull came out with as much ferocity, in the 19-run over that also had three fours.
At the other end of this perfection was a Venkatesh Iyer, seemingly struggling with a blow taken to the knee, who too chanced his arms and found the boundary at will against Rabada, getting 18 in his previous over. RCB flew to 55/0 in 4 overs, the game already slipping away from between GT’s fingers. Even the two wickets in quick succession – of Venkatesh and Devdutt Padikkal, didn’t move the needle enough to rattle RCB as they wrapped up the Powerplay with 70/2 in 6 overs.
Rashid Khan ruffles feathers
Rajat Patidar got going with a six off Siraj in the seventh over and hit a four off Jason Holder next to keep RCB well ahead of the asking rate. The wily leg spinner then stepped into the contest to give it some life and a slight change in direction. Patidar appeared to get under a full ball from the spinner when he looked to smash it over long on, but Rabada completed a catch inches from the boundary skirting. In the same over, Krunal Pandya was out leg before to give GT some breathing room in the final.
Kohli hits his fastest IPL fifty
The veteran was limping due to a strain, but that didn’t stop him from getting to a 25-ball fifty – his fastest in the IPL, and carrying on in the same vein to shield RCB against a dramatic dip from a position of strength – a feeling he’s experienced in a final (2016) before. Tim David kept him company for a 41-run partnership before nicking one behind off Arshad Khan.
Title secured!
A tense an silent phase of play followed, at least for the RCB fans in the stands as GT tried to push back late. They roped in impact substitute Prasidh Krishna to try for more inroads but that didn’t come. Kohli was nearly out – caught by Shubman Gill at mid-off, but an umpire’s review showed a part of the ball hitting the ground.
The defining scene of last year’s final was a teary-eyed Kohli and down on the ground by the boundary, letting the emotions of a first IPL title overwhelm him. A year later, he was in the middle of it all, hitting the ball into the stands over long on to secure a second title in as many years.
sources: cricbuzz.com
