Thanks to crucial efforts from Krunal Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, an 18-year quest for a first trophy came to an end Tuesday night. RCB vs PBKS Final
Match Result
Punjab Kings 184 for 7 (Shashank 61*, Inglis 39, Krunal 2-17, Bhuvneshwar 2-38) lost by six runs to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 190 for 9 (Kohli 43, Arshdeep 3-40, Jamieson 3-48).
Three of the eighteen years ended in defeat at the last hurdle, and seventeen of them ended in miserable disappointment for one of the IPL’s largest and most ardent fan bases. Eighteen years were spent believing that ee sala cup namde (this year the cup is ours).
190 defeated 184 in a bowler-dominated match proves how far T20 has advanced. After sending RCB in, PBKS did a fantastic job of limiting them to 190. However, RCB’s bowlers performed even better, as Yash Dayal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Krunal Pandya—all of whom have won IPL titles with other teams—brought their expertise and nous to play on the unique Ahmedabad surface.
The slim six-run victory margin was misleading, even though it demonstrated how evenly matched these two teams have been this season. Shashank Singh ended the game and the season by hitting Josh Hazlewood for 6, 4, 6, 6 after finishing on an undefeated 30-ball 61. However, those strokes came a bit too late; Hazlewood had begun with a pair of dots that virtually killed the match mathematically, and PBKS needed 29 going into the last over.
No. 18’s 18th time lucky
The man with the 18 on his back was the center of attention at the conclusion. At times, Virat Kohli’s 43 in this match felt like it belonged in a different age, too risk-averse, and likely to give his team a lower-than-ideal total, much like his innings in the T20 World Cup final last year. Although 196 was the lowest first-inning total in eight games, there were hints throughout his knock that this wasn’t the kind of pitch Ahmedabad has been using frequently this season. When the PBKS seamers bowled into the pitch, they created a tennis-ball bounce, which made it difficult for him to produce power with his pull stroke.
For a PBKS lineup that had shot down 204 with an over to spare at the same ground two days earlier, a target of 191 seemed insufficient despite everything. This pitch, however, was unique and didn’t necessarily get any easier in the second inning. Two of PBKS’ best hitters combined to surpass Kohli’s difficulties; Prabhsimran Singh and Nehal Wadhera combined for 41 off 40 balls, whereas Kohli struck 43 off 35 balls.
Krunal manipulates a second final to suit his needs.
Krunal earned Player of the Match in one of the three IPL championships he has won with the Mumbai Indians (MI). That was for his use of the bat.
He batted this time in the 18th over and was holed out for 4 off 5. With the ball this time, he changed the outcome of the game.
When he entered, the final was on the verge of collapse. After their powerplay, RCB was 55 for 1 and PBKS was 52 for 1.
The majority of the components that made Krunal so challenging to hit on this pitch—which had just enough inherent spin and tempo variation to make him challenging to line up—were there in his first over. In order to give the right-handers a single to sweeper cover that they didn’t particularly want, he bowled quickly and into the pitch, either angling the ball into their leg stump and restricting their space or launching it wide of off stump. This over only yielded three runs.
The ability to predict the batter’s intentions and alter his tempo at the last second added another dimension to his next over. When Krunal, whose typical speed is between 98 and 101 km/h, saw Prabhsimran charging at him, he dangled an 80 km/h ball out of his line of sight. Prabhsimran skewed a catch to point, out of shape.
For PBKS, Iyer and Inglis fall at the wrong times.
Remember November 19, 2023. Shreyas Iyer played the innings in India’s victory in the semi-finals and was in scorching form during the ODI World Cup. After that, he was taken off guard by a back-of-a-length delivery and fell early in the final.
Now, more or less, the same screenplay was being reenacted. He top-edged an attempted slice through point off Romario Shepherd, where he had tentatively probed at Pat Cummins two years prior. With PBKS requiring 112 off 62 balls, it was a huge turning point in the match.
However, Josh Inglis was playing brilliantly, and their batting depth meant they were still in with a good chance. He was playing the pull like a guy in a dream on this surface, where the short or shortish ball was not coming into the bat at any sort of predictable height or pace. Against pace and spin, he smashed one four and four sixes to score 33 from 10 pulls.
He attempted to step out and launch Krunal over long-on at 39, but he was unable to find the elevation or power to do it. It appeared to be over at that time, as PBKS needed 93 off 47.
It’s too late to redeem Shashank.
At the same ground, Shashank had begun his season. He struck five fours in a now-iconic final over, depriving his skipper, who was on 97, of the strike.
Even when the necessary rate continued to rise, PBKS managed to hang on by their fingertips thanks to his final brilliant outburst. In the 16th over, he hammered Hazlewood for two sixes, keeping the equation within reach at 55 off 24. RCB vs PBKS Final He then refused singles and maintained the strike throughout the 19th over, striking Bhuvneshwar for a six and a four to raise it to 29 off the final six balls, with the other PBKS batsmen and true all-rounders back in the hut.
Although it wasn’t meant to be, the final explosion at the end of the match demonstrated how much closer PBKS could have been with a slight change in strategy.
Jitesh makes a vital play.
It was challenging to determine whether RCB was setting a solid foundation on a slow pitch or moving a little too slowly on a flat one for the majority of their innings. With Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar, and Liam Livingstone hitting 66 off 43 between them, Kohli’s top-order teammates continued to falter just when they appeared to be posing a threat. RCB vs PBKS Final Kyle Jamieson caught all three. He made good use of the slower legcutter, either causing it to dip uncomfortably when he went full or dying on the batter from lesser lengths.
Also Read- RCB vs. PBKS: An IPL final that might be both incredibly happy and heartbreaking
A hard length was hammered by Jamieson, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Vijaykumar Vyshak, and until Jitesh Sharma entered the game, RCB was unable to come up with a strategy to attack it. In the end, his 24 off 10 balls was a vital brief appearance. It included a scooped six over his head, struck while chest-on to the bowler, Jamieson, and a flat-batted six over cover when he exposed all his stumps to make room.
Arshdeep Singh, who found the reverse-swing that allowed him to go full and attack the stumps in a three-wicket final over that cost PBKS just five runs, and Vyshak, who dismissed Jitesh while giving up just five runs in the 18th over, put an end to RCB’s hopes of surpassing 200 runs during his innings.
