IPL finally delivers for King Kohli after overcoming a conflict and ushering in a teenage star
AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — 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.
Pakistan Super League
The impact of the military escalation spilled over to cricket leagues on both sides of the border. A drone, which struck inside a cricket complex in Rawalpindi hours before a game resulted in a nine-day halt to the Pakistan Super League.
About 40 foreign players were flown out of Pakistan on a chartered flight and organizers planned to move the PSL to the UAE. But the Pakistan Cricket Board decided to resume and finish off in Rawalpindi and Lahore.
The overlapping of the IPL and the PSL took some gloss off the Pakistan-based league, forcing some players to make tough choices. For instance Rashid Khan, the world’s top-ranked T20 player, opted to join the Gujarat Titans in the IPL instead of playing for Lahore Qalandars in Pakistan.
Joy flight
Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza stole the show at the PSL for his extraordinary commitment with Lahore. On resumption of the league, Raza returned for Lahore’s last league game before flying out to England for Zimbabwe’s one-off cricket test at Nottingham. With that match was over inside three days, Raza made an incredible dash back to Lahore.
He drove to Birmingham, then flew to Lahore via the UAE, touching down 10 minutes before the toss. He was there to hit the winning runs in late May.
“I am here to do a job,” Raza said, “and God forbid, if we happened to lose the game then at least in my heart I knew I was with my brothers.”
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AP Sports Writer Rizwan Ali contributed from Islamabad.
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket