Virat Kohli fulfils IPL dream as Bengaluru beat Punjab for first title

AHMEDABAD: Batting legend Virat Kohli top-scored for Royal Challengers Bengaluru as they beat Punjab Kings by six runs on Tuesday to win their first Indian Premier League T20 title.

Kohli’s 43 from 35 balls at the top of the order set up Bengaluru for an imposing total of 190-9 which was one big blow too many for a Punjab side that battled until the end, finishing on 184-7.

More than 91,000 fans packed into the 132,000-capacity stadium in Ahmedabad, a sea of Bengaluru’s red and Kohli’s jersey number 18 dominating the stands as chants of “Kohli, Kohli” rang out.

They celebrated noisily when Kohli and RCB clinched victory for the first time in the 18 years of the IPL, their three previous finals having all ended in defeat.

The 36-year-old Kohli, one of India’s all-time greats in all formats of the game, collapsed on the ground after the win and then got up to be hugged by his teammates as the crowd celebrated their hero.

Punjab faltered in their chase after left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya took 2-17 from his four overs.

Shashank Singh hit a valiant 61 not out and finished with three sixes and a four off Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood who defended 29 runs in the final over.

Hazlewood, who took 3-21 against Punjab in last week’s qualifier win after recovering from a shoulder injury, struck first to send back left-handed Priyansh Arya for 24 with Phil Salt taking a stunning catch at the ropes.

Impact substitute Prabhsimran Singh was the next to go off Pandya but the Bengaluru crowd went wild when Romario Shepherd had skipper Shreyas Iyer caught behind for one.

Pandya stuck again to cut short Australian wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis’ stay on 39 and Bengaluru seized momentum and Shashank’s late blitz was not