AHMEDABAD: Fairytale finishes are hard to come by in sport. As much as one hopes for it, such moments do not happen to every sporting legend. Virat Kohli chased it for 18 years in the Indian Premier League (IPL) before the Royal Challengers Bengaluru came together to win their first title in 2025.
On Sunday, in Ahmedabad, Kohli had his moment. Again. With an unbeaten 75 off 42 balls — also his fastest IPL fifty (25) in 19 years — the former captain took RCB to their second title, beating Gujarat Titans in front of 90000 fans who were cheering for him.
However, the chase and title were possible because of their bowling attack, led by Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who removed Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan early to break the contest. They were reduced to 115/6, and from thereon, despite a fighting Washington Sundar’s fifty that took GT to 155/8, it was RCB’s game to lose.
For the first 15 years, RCB remained a batting dynasty led by Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle. Over the years, almost every batting superstar, especially overseas, would have turned up for the franchise. They headlined victories while bowlers got the flak.
Now, the batting stars are still there, but they aren’t the lead protagonists anymore. It was the Kumars, Hazlewoods and Krunals who won them their first IPL title. And it is they who made the fairytale possible for Kohli.
