Kings In Way Of Kohli's IPL Dream As New Champs Await

Virat Kohli's nearly two-decade-long agonising wait to lay hands on an IPL Trophy with Royal Challengers Bengaluru will be up against Shreyas Iyer's resolve to make first-time winners out of the tenacious Punjab Kings when the 18th season finale of the world's biggest T20 league unfolds here on Tuesday.

- Agencies

AHMEDABAD:

The summit clash here at the Narendra Modi Stadium could witness thousands of fans donning jersey No. 18 to support Kohli, who is in an IPL final for a fourth time overall.

The sentiments of the fans would indeed run high given it will be Kohli's last appearance on the cricket field for a while, having recently retired from Test cricket and India's next ODI assignment a few months away.

Parting ways with issues that plagued their previous campaigns, RCB have been clinical all the way through, coming into the final with an eight-wicket hammering of Punjab in a one-sided Qualifier 1.

Kohli (614 runs) has gone about his business like every other year, piling up runs at the top and continuing to lay platforms, but where it has made the difference for RCB is that there's a lot more substance to their batting beyond the superstar.