Cricket legend Virat Kohli on verge of his first IPL trophy

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The greatest batsman of this era is still waiting to get his hands on one of the major trophies that has eluded him.

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Virat Kohli hasn’t won the Indian Premier League trophy in 16 years, but this could well be the year that the 36-year-old finally gets a chance to lift that glorious golden cup.

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Hard on the heels after this money-spinning tournament ends this weekend, Kohli turns his focus on another piece of silverware that he has been shut out from.

Meanwhile, Mitchell Starc showed why Kolkata Knight Riders splashed a world record $2.97 million US on the fast bowler as he guided the team
to the final after thrashing Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in a playoff on Tuesday.

Starc, who came under fire at the start of the season for leaking runs, finally struck by taking three wickets for 34, including that of star batsman and Australian colleague Travis Head for a duck.

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Hyderabad was dismissed for 159 and then Shreyas Iyer (58 not out) and Venkatesh Iyer (51 not out) put on an unbroken 97-run third-wicket stand to reach 164 for two.

But Pat Cummins’ Hyderabad still have a chance of reaching the final as it takes on Kohli’s Bengaluru on Thursday for another crack at the final.

In fact, Kohli and his Royal Challengers Bengaluru were written off after winning just one of their first eight IPL games, but the squad led by South African great Faf du Plessis then caught fire and bounced back in emphatic fashion to glide into the last four.

Kohli is tough as nails and rarely ever shows any emotion, but on Sunday he burst into tears after RCB stunned defending champion Chennai Super Kings and denied another Indian superstar and possibly India’s most popular star, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, of going for his sixth IPL title.

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Kohli has approached the IPL season with all guns blazing and thrilled the local fans with his bat as he accumulated 700-plus runs during the season. One can safely say there are still a few more runs left in that bat in the qualifier and possibly the final.

Following that disastrous RCB start to the season, there were questions raised as to why India should select him for the global tournament in June. But, in typical Kohli fashion, he silenced his critics.

Kohli’s 708 runs ranks him second behind former Australian superstar Matthew Hayden, who accumulated 973 runs in the IPL in 2016. And Hayden is convinced that the way Kohli is batting, he could break his record.

“Virat can go past my tally of 2016,” the huge Aussie opener said. “The love and commitment for the game drives him.

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“He doesn’t believe in leaving things incomplete. He is committed and he gives it back to the crowd as well,” added Hayden, who is covering the IPL as a television commentator.

So Kohli has his sights set on two trophies. India only has won the World Twenty20 Cup once and that was back in 2007 under the inspirational Dhoni. This was a year before Kohli started making waves.

Meanwhile, the speculation about Dhoni’s retirement has been a hot topic following that 27-run loss to RCB. At the start of the season, Dhoni gave an indication this could be his last season as he stepped back and appointed Ruturaj Gaikwad as skipper of the squad.

This move only added to the rumours he was grooming Gaikwad for the job. Gaikwad had a superb season with the bat by scoring 583 runs, second only behind Kohli and ahead of Head, who made 533.

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Dhoni, who has been suffering from a knee injury, proved he can still be the dangerous finisher he has been over the years. In that final over against RCB, his team required 17 runs to qualify and, in typical Dhoni fashion, he clobbered the first ball for a six but young pace bowler Yash Dayal held his nerve to dismiss Dhoni to seal his team’s fate.

Several former Indian internationals believe the 42-year-old Dhoni will return next season for a final hurrah while others reckon the legend has played his last knock.

Meanwhile, Hayden, who played alongside Dhoni in the initial years of IPL, suggested Dhoni certainly will return to CSK, but in the role of a mentor or other coaching staff member.

So, the guessing game will continue until November when Dhoni has to inform the league of his status.

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