‘King’ Kohli’s batting helps Bangalore win again; Prince Gill’s Gujarat is watered down

Once again the IPL champions are Royal Challengers Bangalore. RCB won the title for the second time in a row defeating Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the final. Man of the match? One name, Virat Kohli. He is the savior when the team is in danger. Although not the captain, he is the heart of the team. Still ‘King’ finished the match by hitting a six.

RCB became the champion again based on Virat Kohli’s 75 runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rashikh Salam bowled controlled early to keep Subhash Gill’s Gujarat in check. And Kohli did the last thing. He killed six of them. Virat remains unbeaten with 75 runs from 42 balls. Finally, the 18-year wait is over. And two consecutive trophies in two years for Rajat Patidar.

The final was originally scheduled to be held at Chinnaswamy in Bengaluru but was shifted to Ahmedabad. But where Kohli takes to the field is his home ground. Ahmedabad is full of red and gold on Sunday. RCB captain Rajat Patidar won the toss and decided to bowl first. He was not even on Indian cricket’s radar until a few years ago. And if Kohli is the ‘King’ of the game, then Patidar is the ‘King Maker’ who has led the country to two titles in a row.

Bengal’s pace attack includes Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood. But Patidar is credited with bringing this team together. He has used young pacers like Rashikh Salam at the right time and in the right way. He took 3 wickets.

Gujarat rely heavily on Subhash Gill and Sai Sudarshan in the top order. As both failed, Gujarat’s run rate stalled. Often they both come out the same. Sudarshan (12) was dismissed by Bhuvneshwar and Gill (10) by Hazelwood. The early run rate did not increase. At one point no boundary came in 40 consecutive balls.

Inexperienced Nishant Sandhu (20) did not get big runs. Veteran Josh Buttler (19) has had his best for a long time. The lone fighter was Washington Sundar (50). Hazelwood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took two wickets each. Bhubaneswar tops the purple cap race. Rashikh Salam took three wickets. Gujarat were bowled out for 155 for eight.

This is water with rice for RCB! Kohli almost finished the score alone. The fate of the match was written in the first innings. The opening pair of Venkatesh Iyer and Virat Kohli did the rest. Venkatesh was dismissed for 32 off 16 balls. He made the team midway through the season as an impact player. He also made an impact in the final. Kohli, on the other hand, showed his ‘class’ with neither Mohammad Chiraj nor Purple Cap winner Kagiso Rabada able to make an impact at the start. Scored 86 runs in the powerplay.

But there was no obstacle on the way to RCB’s goal? Gujarat spinner Rashid Khan hit the ball in the ninth over. Earlier RCB was under no pressure with Venkatesh and Padikkal (1) losing wickets. But Rashid sent back Patidar and Krunal in the ninth over. This seems to be a ray of hope for Gujarat. But it didn’t take long for Imlan. On the other hand, ‘Chessmaster’ Kohli. RCB cannot be sacked as long as he is there. And that happened.

Aim small. Panic is dangerous. From this situation he won many matches for Team India. And he proved again why he is a great match player. He started rotating strikes with Tim David. And when he gets one or two bad balls, he throws them out of the field. He completed his half century off 25 balls. David was dismissed for 24 but Kohli stuck to his target.

It remains to be seen whether the winning runs come from his bat. At the very end, Subhash Gill took the catch and attempted a dramatic turn. But this time too, Yuvraj was not in favor of fate. The third umpire gave him not out. In the end, Kohli won the trophy by hitting a six. RCB won the title for the second time in a row. The trophy-hungry team is now seventh in 18 years. And of course Madhyamani ‘King’ Kohli.

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