Virat Kohli, RCB, heartbreak: since 2008, that has been the constant theme. Not anymore.
It had become a fundamental truth and the source of many memes: RCB don’t win the IPL.
For eighteen years, a team so deeply rooted to the sports-loving culture of its home city had faltered season after season. Thrice they ‘won’ silver, twice they finished last. Last year, a logo change was followed by a name change too, switching out the anglicised ‘Bangalore’.
New name, fresh start? They would have hoped. When the sister team of the same brand won the Women’s Premier League in their second attempt, a fresh hope, even if borrowed, finally emerged.
Bang in the centre of the team, the gigantic living, breathing behemoth of the game, Virat Kohli lived through the love and despair. He promised never to part with the franchise, becoming Bengaluru’s adopted son, and living a parallel world with a blue kit on, where success came big.
On Tuesday, RCB and Kohli finally found a common thread of success.
With the result still a few overs away, the fireworks started in the background. Very soon, the city will go red under the streetlights. In Ahmedabad, Kohli’s nose turned red as he tried to push back his tears.
When the final ball was bowled, he was on his knees, ditching tears for a celebratory roar only when his teammates helped him up to his feet.
“I have given this team my youth, my prime and my experience,” Kohli said later.
RCB’s first trophy will always be dedicated to Kohli, but the winning formula came by breaking their toxic superstar streak. For years, RCB’s core was a handful of big names, a lopsided lineup too reliant on their overseas batting and running on barebones bowling. For context, Rahul Dravid – who played for them from 2008 to 2010, is still RCB’s second-highest Indian run-scorer after Kohli.
“This tournament has been won by bowlers,” Kohli said, also namechecking their domestic core of batters – the two missing links for the longest time finally had their due.
As is the case for any winning team, the groundwork was laid at the auction months earlier. RCB managed three stellar overseas buys: Phil Salt supplied their top-order explosion, Tim David added the late-order burst they’ve so badly needed, and in Josh Hazlewood, they had one of the most well-rounded fast bowlers around.
The leadership didn’t go to the biggest name either. Rajat Patidar might not be a household name, but he’s been a firecracker in the middle order, and admirably led the side as they navigated through soul-searching and identity cleansing. In Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma and Devdutt Padikkal, they found the missing domestic pieces for their puzzle.
Kohli – now a one-format international player – batted as well as ever, finding a new overseas opening partner to bromance with. The lineup didn’t look badly designed anymore, free from the fingerprints of any marketing influence. Fans continued to love RCB despite legendary faces disappearing off posters – cricketing logic finally found its way into the DNA of the team.
Final, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab Kings
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The desperation to win the title had still echoed ahead of the season, with the ubiquitous ‘Ee Sala Cup Namde’ (‘This year, the cup is ours’) slogan oscillating between being a symbol of hope for some, and the butt of jokes for others. But in Andy Flower, Mo Bobat and others, they found a no-nonsense coaching crew who promised – before the season – to cut the outside noise for cricket to take centre stage.
It wasn’t without wrinkle: they lost their first three matches at home, were struck by injuries at different junctures – first Padikkal, then Patidar himself and finally David. But it didn’t matter as this wasn’t a thinly spread lineup anymore: they had substance to match their ever-growing mass appeal. During the season, they became the first IPL franchise to cross 20 million followers across social media platforms. That legion of fans finally had something real to celebrate.
There are still remnants of the big-name obsession. After the win, a lot of the focus hovered around Kohli, accentuated further with AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle, two of their grandest overseas alumni, joining him in the middle for a broadcaster’s dream. It might never go away completely; after all, the brand itself was built by a high-flying billionaire with a motto to “make it large” and “play bold”. But over the years, that influence has receded, and with the trophy now, the ideology has completed a silent transition.
“Ee Sala Cup Namdu,” said Kohli and Patidar later, modifying the last word of the phrase to confirm the trophy was finally theirs. The memes can be parked for at least a year, maybe forever. The IPL’s perennial underachievers have finally reached the promised land.
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