IPL finally delivers for King Kohli after overcoming a conflict and ushering in a teenage star
Virat Kohli shed tears. Of joy. At last.
Cricket's biggest star, known as 'King Kohli' by his 300 million-plus followers on social media, was there in the infancy of the Indian Premier League in 2008 and had to wait 18 seasons to clinch the title with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
After the six-wicket win over Punjab Kings on Tuesday night to end a dramatic, disrupted season for the world's richest franchise cricket league, Kohli slumped to his knees and cried. He retired from test cricket during the season, leaving his focus on the Twenty20 format at the IPL.
'I have given everything to this franchise for the last 18 years," the 36-year-old star batter said. 'I never thought this moment would come.'
Young star emerges
The 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi became an instant hit and set all kinds of records when he made his century. With some of India's biggest stars nearing retirement, he's being touted as the next big thing.
A final scene
Narendra Modi Stadium was decked in India's national colors while players from Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings went about their pre-match rituals. Both teams went into the decider aiming to win their first IPL title.
Fighter jets roared across the evening sky, leaving tricolor vapor lingering. Later, the closing ceremony was a celebration of India's armed forces.
This final — on a weekday — was originally scheduled for May 25, and meant to be played in Kolkata. But the league was suspended for a week because of the cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan.
In the past, the IPL has moved to South Africa and the United Arab Emirates because of national elections or restrictions imposed to during the COVID-19 pandemic. The suspension due to a border conflict was unprecedented.
Border conflict
The Punjab Kings-Delhi Capitals game on May 8 was abandoned midway, and squads and broadcast crew traveled by train from Dharamsala to Delhi. Foreign players and their families flew out immediately for their safety. IPL is the biggest money spinner in cricket – one of the biggest properties in world sport – and the major stakeholders were determined for the show to go on.
IPL's resumption was never in question once the cross-border tensions eased. The new schedule was drawn up — six venues were short-listed and the final moved from Kolkata to Ahmedabad.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway was the swift return of most of the contracted foreign players, especially for teams still in knockout contention. In some situations, where replacements were sought, the Board of Control for Cricket in India allowed teams to hire players short-term.
Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis, for example, got out of his PSL contract with Quetta Gladiators and signed up with Gujarat Titans for the remainder of the season.
The big knocks
While the league suspension will go down in history, the season will be memorable for some scintillating cricket — 200-plus totals were posted a record 52 times in 74 matches this season. The previous best was 41 in IPL 2024.
Additionally, 200-plus was chased down on nine occasions. 2024 runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad, who finished sixth this season scored the season's highest against Rajasthan Royals — 286-6. It also posted the highest successful run-chase, scoring 247-2 in reply to Punjab's 245-6.
Bengaluru, which arguably boasts of the most passionate supporters in the IPL, winning its maiden IPL title was perhaps a marker of how well the season reemerged after the forced suspension.
What's next for India?
During the break, Indian cricket also took a giant leap toward its future. Stalwarts Kohli and Rohit Sharma had walked away from test cricket within six days even as the Indian selectors looked ahead to the tour of England which begins this month.
Shubman Gill is the new test skipper and will lead India into a whole new era. Sai Sudharsan, the highest run-getter of IPL 2025 with 759 runs in 15 games, has also been picked in India's test squad for England.
___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
31 minutes ago
- BBC News
Visa issues stop two Windies players travelling to UK
West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein and batter Jyd Goolie have been unable to travel to the UK for the upcoming matches against England and Ireland because of visa remain in Trinidad having failed to gain visas after UK entry requirements were updated for Trinidad and Tobago citizens on 23 32, second in the global T20 bowling rankings, was set to play in the first T20 against England at Chester-le-Street on updated requirements mean both players had to attend mandatory in-person appointments in Trinidad before being granted permission to travel but Hosein has been unable to do so in time, given he was playing in the Pakistan Super West Indies (CWI) are hopeful of resolving the matter but it is unlikely to be done in time for Hosein, whose passport remains with authorities, to feature against second T20 against England is on Sunday in Bristol and the third on Tuesday in Goolie, 28, was a late addition to the squad for the three-match T20 series against Ireland that follow, as a replacement for Roston Chase after he was named West Indies Test captain last is returning to the Caribbean to prepare for a Test series against Australia later this month, ruling him out of the T20s against Ireland, which are being played at Bready Cricket Club in Northern Ireland. Hosein is also in the squad to play Ireland."As soon as the updated visa requirements were announced, CWI began the necessary application processes. This was only possible after Akeal returned to Trinidad, and following the confirmation of Jyd's selection to the Ireland squad", said CWI director of cricket Miles West Indies' statement added: "CWI made formal efforts to expedite the visa process for Akeal and applied for a visa waiver for Jyd. "However, these processes are ultimately governed by UK immigration authorities and remain outside of CWI's control."CWI remains optimistic that the matter will be resolved in the coming days, allowing Hosein to join the squad for the remaining matches."The UK Home Office has been approached for spinner Shoaib Bashir missed a Test in India last year after issues gaining a visa.
The Independent
41 minutes ago
- The Independent
The new Indian railway arch bridge 35m higher than Eiffel Tower
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chenab Railway Bridge, the world's tallest railway arch bridge at 359m above the Chenab River, 35m taller than the Eiffel Tower, in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The bridge, a key part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, connects the Kashmir region with the rest of India via an all-weather rail line, spanning 1,315m and designed to last 120 years. Construction involved stabilising slopes in the fractured Himalayan geology, using cement grouting, steel rod reinforcement. The USBRL project, approved in 2003, includes 36 tunnels and 943 bridges, costing Rs437.8bn (£3.7bn), with the Chenab Bridge alone costing approximately Rs14.86bn (£128m). The Chenab Bridge is expected to significantly reduce travel time between Katra and Srinagar to three hours via the Vande Bharat Express.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
India's fuel demand in May hit highest in over a year
June 6 (Reuters) - India's fuel demand rose to 21.32 million metric tons in May, its highest in more than a year, Oil Ministry data showed on Friday. India is the world's third-largest consumer and importer of oil. The data is a proxy for the country's oil demand. On a yearly basis, fuel demand in May was up 5.7% from the previous month and 1.1% from 21.08 million tons in the same month last year, the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell's website showed. Sales of gasoline, or petrol, rose 9.6% to 3.78 million tons, compared with 3.45 million tons last month, and were up 9.2% from levels a year ago. Diesel consumption in May climbed 4% month-on-month to 8.59 million tons, and up 2.1% from year-ago levels. Cooking gas, or liquefied petroleum gas, sales increased 10.4% on an annual basis to 2.66 million tons, while naphtha sales fell 8.3% compared with last year to 1.0 million tons. On a monthly basis, LPG and naphtha sales rose 5.6% and 7.5%, respectively. Sales of bitumen, used for making roads, remained largely unchanged in May, compared with April. "Looking at product details, Indian demand saw strong growth for gasoline and aviation fuel, which speaks for mobility as the key factor supporting demand growth. Diesel demand expanded at a solid pace as well, but less than the first two," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. "Assume weakness in the petrochemical sector is the main factor weighing on naphtha demand." India's private sector activity accelerated at its fastest pace in over a year in May, driven by expansion in services even as price pressures intensified, a survey showed. Several petrochemical producers in Asia plan to reconfigure their crackers to process more ethane to reduce costs and capitalise on rising U.S. supplies as they face thin margins and global oversupply, company executives said in May.
