In a game that was most fitting for a final, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) managed to keep their nerves to beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs. With both teams in Red fighting for their maiden title, there was always going to be joy on one side and heartbreak on the other. 

 

 

 

 

 

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In the end, it was RCB who managed to keep their nerves and end their long wait of 18 years to get their hands on the trophy. PBKS, on the other hand, will need to wait for another year to try and break the jinx. They will take heart from the fact that they played some of the best cricket they have ever played as a team this season. But they will also need to admit that they lost to the better team, who defeated them twice in one week en route to winning the title.

 

 

 

 

 

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Set 191 to win, it initially seemed a total under par, especially when PBKS managed to reach 70 at the end of the 8th over and seemed totally in control, thanks to a quick start by their openers, Priyansh and Prabhsimran, before Hazlewood got rid of Priyansh for 24 and then Inglis taking over and continued to keep the momentum going.

 

 

 

 

 

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RCB, however, with their sharp fielding and catching kept pegging them back, making the total seem larger than it was felt initially. Krunal led the charge with an extremely tight spell of 2/17 in the middle, providing the breakthrough with the wickets of the set batters Prabhsimran for 26 and Josh Inglis 39. In between, Shepherd managed to get rid of the dangerous Shreyas for just 1, giving PBKS a big blow considering how he single-handedly finished the chase a couple of days ago.

 

 

 

 

 

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Nehal Wadhera, who also had a fabulous outing in Qualifier 2, could not do much either, and except for the one hit or two, seemed a shadow of himself, falling for an agonizing 15 of 18 balls. When he fell, it was 55 needed of 23 balls, which in today’s day and age is not something unheard of, but his wicket, followed by Stoinis for 6 and Omarzai for 1 in quick succession who perished in trying to get a move on meant the task was quickly going out of reach. Shashank managed to hit a few blows in the end to score a fabulous half-century and finish on 61 not out, but it was not enough to lead them to the title.  

For RCB, the seamers kept things tight at the end, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal and Hazlewood bowling tight overs to help RCB cross the final hurdle. Bhuvneshwar picked up 2 of the wickets in the end, hurrying the downfall, while Hazlewood, Yash Dayal and Shepherd picked up a wicket each.

Earlier in the day, PBKS won the toss and chose to field, and based on the recent results at the venue and the weather conditions, one would have thought it was an excellent toss to win. Salt and Kohli played with a mixture of aggression and control before Salt was dismissed, caught by captain Shreyas off Jamieson for 16.

The RCB innings seemed to have continued the trend of see-saw as each time RCB looked to get a move on, they seemed to lose a wicket. The 2nd, 3rd,4th, and 5th wicket partnerships read 38, 40, 35, and 36 with Mayank Agarwal scoring 24, Rajat Patidar 26, Livingstone 25, Jitesh 24, and Shepherd 17 all falling trying to get a move on. Kohli was the top scorer and held the fort for most of the innings, scoring a patient 43. At the end, they managed to finish with 190/9, which many felt was 20-30 runs too less to be par.

For PBKS, Arshdeep and Kyle Jamieson picked up 3 wickets each and were excellent in their spells, though the RCB batters managed to take them for a few especially Jitesh who seemed to have got Jamieson flustered to end up bowling a few wides after hitting two sixes in completely opposite directions behind and in front of the wicket before the bowler having the last laugh, getting Jitesh out LBW. Omarzai, Chahal, and Vyshak shared the remaining 3 wickets between them.

 

 

 

 

 

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In the end, the aggressive 24 off 10 balls cameo from Jitesh could be said to have been the main difference between the sides, which is shown by the winning margin of just 6 runs.

When the season began, many wondered why Rajat Patidar was named as a captain by RCB with many big names around as potential choices and he showed why there was much optimism in the camp when he chosen and one gets the feeling RCB will now have a place cemented for him in the near future as their leader. 

For Shreyas too, despite the hiccup at the end, PBKS would do good to ensure he continues at the helm, and he too has done his reputation no harm, having led 3 different franchises to the final, showing he is someone with impeccable leadership skills.

The result also marked the end of a long wait for Virat Kohli, having spent so many years with a single franchise, to finally silence all his critics.

 

 

 

 

 

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