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