'Emotional' Kohli fulfills IPL dream as Bengaluru claims first title
Batting great Virat Kohli fulfilled an 18-year dream of winning an IPL title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru after they beat Punjab Kings by six runs in Tuesday's final in Ahmedabad.
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, 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.
"This win is as much for the fans as it is for the team, it's been 18 long years," said Kohli.
"I've given this team my youth, my prime, my experience. I gave it everything I have.
"I never thought this day would come. I was overcome with emotion as soon as the last ball was bowled.
"I have stayed loyal to this team, no matter what. My heart is with Bangalore, my soul is with Bangalore and this is the team I'll play for til the last day I play the IPL."
Punjab put up a feisty response to the Bengaluru total but 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 with Shashank's late blitz proving not to be enough.
"I am very proud of each and every individual who has participated in this team," said Iyer.
"There are a lot of youngsters who are playing their first season, they've shown a lot of fearlessness. We wouldn't be here without them. Kudos to them."
Bengaluru had the perfect start as 'King Kohli' dug in. Far from his fluent best, he only struck three fours during his innings but in the end it turned out to be key.
He lost opening partner Salt for 16 when New Zealand quick Kyle Jamieson struck in his first over to have the England batter caught in the deep off Iyer.
Kohli, who was his team's best batter this season with 657 runs including eight half-centuries, anchored the innings, sharing important partnerships with Mayank Agarwal, who made 24, and then skipper Rajat Patidar, who hit 26.
But Punjab kept chipping away with wickets as leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal got Agarwal and Jamieson trapped the captain lbw.
Kohli's vigil ended when he mistimed a rising delivery from Afghanistan pace bowler Azmatullah Omarzai for a caught and bowled, the disappointment etched across his face mirrored by his fans.
Jamieson took his third wicket to cut short Liam Livingstone's rampant 25 off 15 balls.
Wickets kept tumbling as wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma fell for a 10-ball 24 and Romario Shepherd for 17 off nine balls.
Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh took three wickets including Shepherd in the 20th over and gave away just three runs.
The 18th edition of the world's richest cricket league ended nine days late due to a pause caused by the military conflict between India and Pakistan.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
5 hours ago
- Japan Times
India's Modi opens strategic railway in contested 'crown jewel' Kashmir
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first visit to Kashmir on Friday since a conflict with archrival Pakistan, opening a strategic railway line to the contested region he called "the crown jewel of India." Modi launched a string of projects worth billions of dollars for the divided Muslim-majority territory, the center of bitter rivalry between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan fought a four-day conflict last month, their worst standoff since 1999, before a ceasefire was agreed to on May 10. "Pakistan will never forget ... its shameful loss," the Hindu nationalist premier told crowds a month since India launched strikes on its neighbor after an attack on tourists in Kashmir. "Friends, today's event is a grand festival of India's unity and firm resolve," Modi said after striding across the soaring bridge to formally launch it for rail traffic. "This is a symbol and celebration of rising India," he said of the Chenab Bridge which connects two mountains. New Delhi calls the Chenab span the "world's highest railway arch bridge," sitting 359 meters above a river. While several road and pipeline bridges are higher, Guinness World Records confirmed that Chenab trumps the previous highest railway bridge, the Najiehe in China. Modi called it "an extraordinary feat of architecture" that "will improve connectivity" by providing the first rail link from the Indian plains up to mountainous Kashmir. With 36 tunnels and 943 bridges, the new railway runs for 272 kilometers and connects Udhampur, Srinagar and Baramulla. It is expected to halve the travel time between the town of Katra in the Hindu-majority Jammu region and Srinagar, the main city in Kashmir, to around three hours. The new route will facilitate the movement of people and goods, as well as troops, that was previously possible only via treacherous mountain roads and by air. Around 150 people protested against the project on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. "We want to tell India that building bridges and laying roads in the name of development will not make the people of Kashmir give up their demand for freedom," said Azir Ahmad Ghazali, who organized the rally attended by Kashmiris who fled unrest on the Indian side in the 1990s. "In clear and unequivocal terms, we want to say to the Indian government that the people of Kashmir have never accepted India's forced rule." More than 70 people were killed in missile, drone and artillery fire during last month's conflict. The fighting was triggered by an April 22 attack on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing, a charge denied by Islamabad. Rebel groups in Indian-run Kashmir have waged an insurgency for 35 years demanding independence for the territory or its merger with Pakistan. Modi also announced further government financial support for families whose relatives were killed, or whose homes were damaged, during the brief conflict — mainly in shelling along the heavily militarized de facto border with Pakistan, known as the Line of Control. "Their troubles are our troubles," Modi said.
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Deadly stampede at India cricket celebrations leaves 11 dead
By Aishwarya KUMAR Packed crowds in India celebrating their cricket team's victory ended in a deadly stampede on Wednesday with 11 mainly young fans crushed to death, the local state's chief minister said. Joyous cricket fans had come out to celebrate and welcome home their heroes, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, after they beat Punjab Kings in a roller-coaster Indian Premier League cricket final on Tuesday night. But the euphoria of the vast crowds in the southern tech city of Bengaluru ended in disaster, with Prime Minister Narendra calling it "absolutely heartrending". Karnataka state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said most of the deceased are young, with 11 dead and 47 injured in the crush. In one Bengaluru hospital, a stream of injured came for treatment. "I was standing near the entrance, there was a huge crowd and they stamped on me", one lady told AFP, being taken in a wheelchair, who did not give her name. "I was not able to breathe. I fell unconscious." Siddaramaiah told reporters said that "no one expected such a huge crowd." But he added that the entire police force of the city had been deployed. "The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000 people, but 200,000-300,000 people came," the minister said. He said a victory street parade by the winning team was called off as authorities had anticipated an uncontrollable crowd. "The pain of this tragedy has even erased the joy of victory," said Siddaramaiah, who has ordered an inquiry in the deaths. "I don't want to defend the incident, the tragedy... our government is not going to play politics on this," he added. "This tragedy should not have happened. We are with the victims." The IPL winning team said it was "deeply anguished" by the incident. "The safety and well-being of everyone is of utmost importance to us," Royal Challengers Bengaluru said late Wednesday. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said hundreds of thousands of people had flocked onto the streets and that police had been "finding it very difficult." An AFP photographer saw vast crowds as a sea of people crammed the streets and police waved sticks. Broadcasters showed police rushing away from crowds carrying young children in their arms, who had seemingly fainted. One unattended young man was sitting in an ambulance struggling to breathe. India cricket great Sachin Tendulkar called the deaths "beyond tragic", in a post on social media. "My heart goes out to every affected family," he said. "Wishing peace and strength to all." Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who attended the final match with his wife on Tuesday, expressed sorrow over the stampede. "We celebrated with you yesterday and we mourn with you today," he said in a post on X. Where the crush took place, abandoned shoes lay scattered around. Mallikarjun Kharge, a senior Congress party leader, said the deaths were "profoundly distressing", adding that "the joy of victory should never come at the cost of lives". Organizers pressed ahead with the ceremony, with the team's social media account posting a video of cheering crowds as the bus full of the players -- including batting legend Virat Kohli -- waved back. "This welcome is what pure love looks like," the club said in a post on X, which it later deleted. But IPL chairman Arun Dhumal, speaking to NDTV, said organizers in the stadium had not been told about the stampede until later. "At the time of the celebrations inside the stadium officials there did not know what had happened... I would like to send my heartfelt condolences," Dhumal said. Shivakumar said cricket organizers had "shortened the program". Bengaluru had erupted in midnight celebrations after their team RCB, who scored 190-9, restricted Punjab to 184-7. India's IPL mega-tournament wrapped up on Tuesday night watched by 91,000 fans packed into the stadium in Ahmedabad -- and many millions more on television. Bengaluru fans celebrated wildly after their hero 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. Deadly crowd incidents are a frequent occurrence at Indian mass events such as religious festivals due to poor crowd management and safety lapses. A stampede at India's Kumbh Mela religious fair in January this year killed 30 people and injured several others. In July last year, 121 people were killed in northern Uttar Pradesh state during a Hindu religious gathering. © 2025 AFP
Japan Times
3 days ago
- Japan Times
'Emotional' Kohli fulfills IPL dream as Bengaluru claims first title
Batting great Virat Kohli fulfilled an 18-year dream of winning an IPL title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru after they beat Punjab Kings by six runs in Tuesday's final in Ahmedabad. 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, 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. "This win is as much for the fans as it is for the team, it's been 18 long years," said Kohli. "I've given this team my youth, my prime, my experience. I gave it everything I have. "I never thought this day would come. I was overcome with emotion as soon as the last ball was bowled. "I have stayed loyal to this team, no matter what. My heart is with Bangalore, my soul is with Bangalore and this is the team I'll play for til the last day I play the IPL." Punjab put up a feisty response to the Bengaluru total but 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 with Shashank's late blitz proving not to be enough. "I am very proud of each and every individual who has participated in this team," said Iyer. "There are a lot of youngsters who are playing their first season, they've shown a lot of fearlessness. We wouldn't be here without them. Kudos to them." Bengaluru had the perfect start as 'King Kohli' dug in. Far from his fluent best, he only struck three fours during his innings but in the end it turned out to be key. He lost opening partner Salt for 16 when New Zealand quick Kyle Jamieson struck in his first over to have the England batter caught in the deep off Iyer. Kohli, who was his team's best batter this season with 657 runs including eight half-centuries, anchored the innings, sharing important partnerships with Mayank Agarwal, who made 24, and then skipper Rajat Patidar, who hit 26. But Punjab kept chipping away with wickets as leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal got Agarwal and Jamieson trapped the captain lbw. Kohli's vigil ended when he mistimed a rising delivery from Afghanistan pace bowler Azmatullah Omarzai for a caught and bowled, the disappointment etched across his face mirrored by his fans. Jamieson took his third wicket to cut short Liam Livingstone's rampant 25 off 15 balls. Wickets kept tumbling as wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma fell for a 10-ball 24 and Romario Shepherd for 17 off nine balls. Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh took three wickets including Shepherd in the 20th over and gave away just three runs. The 18th edition of the world's richest cricket league ended nine days late due to a pause caused by the military conflict between India and Pakistan.
