Kohli powers Bengaluru to ‘stuff of dreams’ back-to-back IPL titles

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Bengaluru restricted Gujarat to 155-8, a total they chased down with 12 balls to spare after Kohli reached his fifth half-century of the season in a lopsided final in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Kohli sealed victory with a six to cap a magnificent 42-ball innings featuring nine fours and three sixes, then pointed to the stands as Bengaluru players sprinted out to celebrate. Bengaluru, led by Rajat Patidar, and Kohli have been on a roll since they won their first IPL crown at the 18th attempt last year. They finished top of the 10-team table after this cricket season’s league stage. “Stuff you dream of. Thought of this moment many times, wanting to hit the winning run,” said the 37-year-old Kohli, who was named player of the match. “Felt really relaxed coming in. The team we have gives confidence to see any kind of situation through. Knew exactly what to do in the chase. Such is the demand [with] super young players pushing you to up the ante.” Kohli added: “We knew what kind of ability we have in the group. And we just said one thing, ‘If we stick to our cricket, if we execute our plans, we are the best team in the competition.'” Kohli’s iconic number 18 jersey dominated the stands at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s biggest cricket ground, which recorded an official attendance of more than 90,000 spectators on Sunday. Kohli and fellow opener Venkatesh Iyer, who hit 32 off 16 balls, got Bengaluru off to a flying start in a 62-run partnership. Mohammed Siraj broke the stand as he dismissed Iyer and Kagiso Rabada removed Devdutt Padikkal from the other end. Rashid Khan struck twice in one over to send back Patidar for 15 and Krunal Pandya to raise Gujarat’s hopes. But Tim David and Kohli put on 41 runs to steady the reply. David fell for 24, but Kohli saw the team through with Jitesh Sharma for company. Kohli has stepped away from Test cricket and T20 internationals and plays just the ODI format for India. Patidar joined an elite group of IPL captains to win back-to-back titles. MS Dhoni achieved the feat with Chennai Super Kings in 2010 and 2011, while Rohit Sharma led Mumbai Indians to glory in 2019 and 2020. “This year was more calm with the way we played throughout the tournament,” Patidar told reporters, as he celebrated his 33rd birthday in style. “My way of captaincy is different. I am not expressive but aware of the game situations.” Bengaluru’s quicks set up the victory as Rasikh Salam stood out with 3-27 in a disciplined attack alongside Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who both took two wickets. The trio justified the decision to put Gujarat in to bat, striking early and regularly. Only Washington Sundar offered much resistance as he scored a defiant 50 not out. Hazlewood landed the first blow as he dismissed skipper Shubman Gill for 10 with Patidar taking a fine running catch. Kumar dislodged the other opener, Sai Sudharsan, for 12 in the next over. Both Gill and Sudharsan were in the race for the Orange Cap awarded to the top scorer in the IPL season, but Rajasthan Royals’ 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ended top of the list with 776 runs. Teenage sensation Sooryavanshi was named player of the tournament and also won the emerging player award. Gill (732) and Sudharsan (722) finished second and third in the run charts. Kohli was fourth with 675. Nishant Sindhu, who made 20, and Jos Buttler attempted to steady the Gujarat innings but struggled against a miserly attack, and soon Salam removed Sindhu. Krunal Pandya had Buttler stumped for 19 with his left-arm spin, and Gujarat slumped to 73-4. “We have apex predators but couldn’t get going in the powerplay,” said Gujarat batting coach Matthew Hayden. “I thought it was an incredible bowling performance by RCB.” Wickets continued to fall, but Sundar stood firm to reach his fifty in the 20th over. The effort was not enough as Gujarat finished runners-up for the second time in three finals. Their only triumph came in their debut season in 2022. 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