Virat Kohli and Royal Challengers Bangalore won their first ever Indian Premier League (IPL) title with a thrilling 6-run win over Punjab Kings. How was the 18th edition of the IPL?
The main features prepared by AFP are:
Finally Kohli the champion
Two-time World Cup winner Kohli's playing career was outstanding. However, the only drawback was the REPL title. Now that too has been completed. He cried, laughed, and lifted the IPL title for the first time. Kohli achieved this feat by playing the tournament for the 18th time in a row. Coincidentally, his jersey number is 18. Kohli was the individual high scorer with 43 runs in Bengaluru's 190 runs for 9 wickets while batting first.
Shreyas' captaincy performance
One of the best performers for Punjab was skipper Shreyas Iyer. He performed decisively to take the team to the final of the IPL for the second time. Punjab paid a hefty price for his batting in the player auction. Coach Ricky Ponting was the one who showed the most faith in Shreyas. Shreyas scored 604 runs this time. It included an eliminator sensational unbeaten 87 against Mumbai Indians.
The sensation of teenage players
14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals managed to attract the attention of the world cricket by batting aggressively. He hit a first ball six on his IPL debut against Lucknow Super Giants. Suryavanshi later scored a century against Gujarat. He scored a century in 35 balls. It included 11 sixes and 7 fours. He also scored 57 runs in his last match against Chennai Super Kings.
Pant failed
Lucknow Giants spent a record amount for Rishabh Pant. However, the Indian wicketkeeper/batter failed to perform accordingly. His specialty was aggressive batting, but he couldn't give a taste of it. In this way, Lucknow got out of the playoff equation before two games of the league stage. He scored a century against RCB in the last match of Lucknow.
The tournament amid tension
This year's IPL was suspended on May 9 amid tension between India and Pakistan. At that time, a match was going on between Punjab and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala. The match was halted after an explosion was heard in Jammu, 200 km from Dharamsala. Later, the players and match officials were brought to New Delhi by a special train. The competition started again from May 17.
