Virat Kohli was the star once again as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated the Gujarat Titans by five wickets to clinch consecutive IPL (Indian Premier League) titles. Kohli remained unbeaten on 75, smashing his fastest IPL fifty – off 25 balls – to win the much-deserved Player of the Match award. RCB joined Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) as only the third IPL team to go back-to-back, and, like the man under whom he captained, MS Dhoni, Kohli scored the winning runs with a six.
However, just before that, Kohli found himself at the centre of drama when he was almost dismissed. Kohli was on 63 when Shubman Gill seemingly held on to a catch, bringing his superb knock to an end. But Kohli wasn’t convinced. He knew it wasn’t as straightforward as it looked. After consulting the umpire, Kohli was initially told to walk. But just as he started making his way back, he quickly turned around. The third umpire was summoned, and that’s when things got really interesting.
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The replay showed that Gill’s catch wasn’t clean. After Kohli mistimed a delivery from Arshad Khan, Gill dived low in front, but as he attempted to get his hands underneath the ball, a part of it appeared to be in contact with the ground. After reviewing multiple angles, the third umpire was convinced. Kohli had survived and earned the opportunity to remain in the middle and put the finishing touches on the chase.
Even as the replays played on the big screen, Kohli gestured towards them before walking up to Gill, appearing to disagree with the GT captain’s claim that the catch was clean. Moments later, when the giant NOT OUT flashed up in green, Kohli pumped his fist in celebration, ultimately having the last laugh.
Watch the drama below:
Kohli makes it count
Kohli ended the season with 675 runs – his fourth straight year of scoring more than 600 runs – to finish fourth on the leading run-getter list, behind Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (776), Gill (732) and Sai Sudharsan.
Led by Kohli, RCB gunned down GT’s total of 155. Batting first, GT suffered a top-order collapse, with Gill and Sudharsan falling cheaply. Washington Sundar’s 50 dragged the Titans past 150, but as it turned out, it was never going to be enough. Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer gave RCB a blazing start, racing to 62 in just 4.3 overs. Rashid Khan offered GT a glimmer of hope by removing captain Rajat Patidar and Krunal Pandya in the same over, but Kohli remained unbeaten till the end to guide RCB to his and their second IPL title.
