At 29 for 5, chasing 159 to win, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) looked done and dusted; and it has to be the case when your man of the moment, Virat Kohli, is out for a duck. Going by Kohli’s form, it was something straight out of the ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not’ series.
But as many said on Twitter, if Kohli doesn’t do it, AB de Villiers will. Gujarat Lions (GL) were at the receiving end of that truth, which saw De Villiers’ 79*, in a crucial 91-run partnership with Iqbal Abdullah, carrying RCB to the IPL-9 final.
And while GL have another shot at reaching the summit clash in Qualifier 2, they were left high and dry by De Villiers’ heroics after Dhawal Kulkarni’s four-wicket burst seemed to have taken the sting out of RCB’s run-chase.
But De Villiers thought otherwise.
AB’s knock, after a couple of infertile innings, kept the ‘who is the best’ debate going. But Kohli doesn’t think so. He believes it has just been put to bed.
“I don’t believe that I am standing here as the winning captain,” Kohli said at the presentation ceremony.
That ends the debate who is the best. I bow down to the big man [De Villiers]. Come the big game, AB stands up. One of the best knock under pressure. Really happy for him, Kohli said about his team-mate.
“I could see the opposition was worried about AB. Credit to Abdulla as well, terrific composure from the young guy. “
By virtue of finishing in the top two of the league stage, the losing team of Qualifier 1 gets to play Qualifier 2 as well, where it faces the winning team of the Eliminator to be played on Wednesday between No. 3 or No. 4.
That means Gujarat will either face the Kolkata Knight Riders or Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 to decide the second team for the final to be held in Bangalore. And playing the final at home will surely add a 12th man to RCB’s eleven.
“It couldn’t be a better scripted story for us,” Kohli said. “Playoffs in Bangalore and final in Bangalore. This one is for the people of Bangalore,” he signed off.