David slays ‘Kohli-ath’

The IPL final recreated one of sport’s favourite metaphors, of David slaying Goliath, in this case David Warner’s XI getting the better of the batting gladiators led by “Kohli-ath”. Appearing in their first-ever final, Sunrisers, Hyderabad were an inspired team under the Australian David Warner, who led the way with the bat in the final with an attacking innings of 69 after boldly going against the trend to bat first and challenge the league’s best batting team. As it transpired, Royal Challengers Bangalore, clearly everyone’s favourite, including the bookmakers, choked once again in a final.

The red-hot streaks of Kohli (973 runs), who played some astonishing innings in a season in which he scored four centuries, and the South African AB de Villiers (687), who is the supreme innovator, would have been sufficient to frighten anyone but the most determined bowling line-up, which Sunrisers proved to be. With the feared opener Chris Gayle returning to form, it seemed no total would be tall enough for RCB. What separated the teams was the never-say-die spirit of Sunrisers, personified most in their end-over bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mustafizur Rahman, who held off the RCB challenge with a spotless display of pressure bowling.

The teamwork behind Sunrisers was also seen in sterling manner in which Ben Cutting cut loose at the end with a quickfire 39 and also provided the vital breaks with the ball. The commitment of eleven men of a team proved greater than the talent of RCB’s top order batsmen. RCB rushed to the final and Sunrisers, who had to work much harder to get there, prevailed to stress one of sport’s old dictums about a team game.