Authorities in Bengaluru shouldn't have allowed mass celebrations if they weren't prepared, India coach Gautam Gambhir said Thursday, a day after 11 cricket fans were killed in a stampede.
"It's been 18 long years," an emotional Kohli, still with bloodshot eyes, told the broadcasters.
The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will have a new champion today, following the mouth-watering final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Shreyas Iyer led from the front with an unbeaten 87 as Punjab Kings beat Mumbai Indians by five wickets on Sunday to set up an IPL final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Bengaluru chased down 228 to go second in the 10-team table in the last league match of this season and set up a meeting with table-toppers Punjab Kings on Thursday.
An incredible final over from Yash Dayal and Romario Shepherd's late batting blitz helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru scrape past Chennai Super Kings by two runs in an IPL thriller to move top of the table on Saturday.
Indian all-rounder Krunal Pandya starred with bat and ball as Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Delhi Capitals by six wickets to top the Indian Premier League table on Sunday.
Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood starred with 4-33 in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's 11 run IPL win at home against Rajasthan Royals, who won the toss and chose to field first Thursday.
Chasing 158 for victory, Bengaluru were propelled by a 103-run second-wicket stand between Kohli, who made an unbeaten 73, and Padikkal to reach their target with seven balls to spare at Mullanpur, near Chandigarh.
Rajasthan emerged victorious with five balls to spare, prompting further scrutiny of Kohli's approach and effectiveness in T20 cricket.
Speedster Mayank Yadav bowled the quickest ball of the new IPL season at 156.7 km/h (97.4 mph) in a fiery spell to power Lucknow Super Giants to a 28-run win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Tuesday.
“Not only a fairplay award, they should be given an Oscar,” Gavaskar said.
Chennai Super Kings will begin their Indian Premier League (IPL) title defence against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in what could be MS Dhoni's final year in the lucrative Twenty20 competition after he stepped down as captain on Thursday.
