The wishes of many cricket fans will get fulfilled on Tuesday when the IPL trophy is lifted by a first-time champion.
While IPL supporters have formed deeply entrenched loyalties, a sizeable number would be pleased that if not their team, there will at least be a new champion – and that, too, a franchise that has been down in the dumps for the best part of two decades.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings have waged their own battles in the IPL, and most of it has got nothing to do with the actual trophy.
Bengaluru have one the most incredible fan bases in franchise cricket – deeply loyal with almost unconditional support despite no trophies.
They have had some of the greatest names in T20 cricket in their line-up over the years but missed the mark every year, for a variety of reasons.
But there were two constants that kept the franchise running and growing – their fans and Virat Kohli. The star India batter has lifted all major white-ball trophies at international level, but the absence of the IPL silverware in the cabinet is particularly painful for a player who has pledged his allegiance to the franchise for the rest of his playing days.
Kohli has had great support cast over the years – be it AB de Villiers or Chris Gayle. But it was still not enough, mainly because the franchise would get fixated on one or two names and then forget that they need to have a balanced squad.
This year, Bengaluru finally learnt from their mistakes, made quality selections before and during the player auction – like Phil Salt and Josh Hazlewood - and backed their local players diligently; their leadership pair of Jitesh Sharma and Rajat Patidar may not be outstanding but have been inspiring.
If RCB lift the title on Tuesday in Ahmedabad, it would mark the completion of a two-decade long journey that has suffered catastrophic derailments but somehow still maintained momentum.
Standing in their way is a side that has had an even more painful existence. Bengaluru at least had superstars, a loyal fanbase and the biggest name in cricket associated with their team. Punjab barely cropped up in conversations.
The franchise had become the laughing stock of the IPL, propping up the points table more often than not. They didn’t even possess a strong local identity in their squad, failing to capitalise on their fertile domestic T20 landscape.
So much so, before the tournament started, Lucknow’s new captain Rishabh Pant said his only worry during the auction was landing up at Punjab.
Turns out, all Punjab needed was a world-class coach in Ricky Ponting and a blockbuster partnership with the golden boy of Indian cricket – Shreyas Iyer.
Punjab first tapped into the enviable supply line of young T20 players in the northern region and put together one of the strongest outfits. Young guns like Priyansh Arya (451 runs) and Prabhsimran Singh (523 runs) flourished after being given the freedom to bat without fear. In bowling, Arshdeep Singh (18 wickets) was excellent as always, while veteran leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (15 wickets) found a spring in his step under new leadership and clarity of vision.
What held it all together was the galvenising leadership of Iyer.
The 2024 IPL winning captain had surprisingly been released by Kolkata. That was a period of great uncertainty in his professional career. Despite being the unsung hero of India’s run to the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, Iyer found himself out of the national team and central contract system over unspecified disciplinary issues pertaining to availability for domestic cricket.
While most players who receive such censure take a time to recover, Iyer turned on the afterburners right away and blazed through every single competition over the past season and a half, as if to prove a point.
Having won the IPL title at Kolkata, Iyer guided his local team Mumbai to the domestic T20 title last year, played a winning hand in the final of the first-class tournament, was India’s leading run getter in their victorious campaign in the Champions Trophy in Dubai earlier this year, regained his central contract with the national team and has now blasted 603 runs to guide Punjab to the IPL final.
His unbeaten knock of 87 from 41 balls in a 204-run chase against Mumbai in the second qualifier – that ran well into the night due to rain delays – was the defining knock of this year's IPL, and possibly Iyer’s career.
It proved beyond doubt that the 30-year-old is the biggest match winner in Indian cricket – at par with Jasprit Bumrah. Players look up to him because of his incredible results over the past two seasons and the manner of his comeback from unexpected demotion; at one point, Iyer was being seen as the next captain of the national team before falling out of favour. India now have three different captains of the national team, but Iyer is not part of the conversation in any of them.
If Punjab win the IPL, it will provide a clear identity to the franchise, to go with their magnificent new base at the Mullanpur stadium, and cement Iyer's position at the forefront of Indian cricket and batting. Even if Punjab lose, Iyer would have done his job and it will then be up to Indian cricket and its stakeholders to make the most of Iyer’s golden run of form.
