So, after 112 league matches, 2 qualifiers, one eliminator and ultimately a final, we have finally come to an end one ng magical journey. We have a new champion this time, as Sunrisers Hyderabad lifted their maiden IPL title on Sunday after heroically defeatiVirat Kohli's Royal Challenger Bangalore in a clincher. This David Warner-led team, finished third in the table after the league matches and then went on to win the final, after giving an amazing all-round performance in the final match. With this win, Sunrisers have now become the sixth team to win the Indian Premier League, which is regarded as the best Twenty20 league in the world.
Playing on their home Ground, RCB was always a favorite to win the title this year, thanks to Virat Kohli's electric performance. But, Hyderabad high on their captain's prolific form and their bowlers' consistency rose to the occasion and clinched the trophy from RCB. They are crowned the new champion in the magnificent Chinnaswamy stadium, Bangalore.
After winning the toss, Hyderabad elected to bat first and put a formidable total of 208 for RCB to chase. David Warner, Shikhar Dhawan, and Yuvraj Singh played according to the expectations and help Hyderabad registering a formidable total on the board. A special mention should be given to Ben Cutting whose 39 runs of 15 deliveries helped Hyderabad's score past 200 in the two last over.
RCB was well within their chase till the time, Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli were there on the ground for the first wicket partnership. Gayle's 76 and Kohli's 54 cemented their chances of successfully chasing down the total of 209. But of them fell down within few balls and RCB was at the risk of losing the match. The in-form AB de-Villiers failed and were out on just 5 runs. In the end, RCB fell short of 9 runs to chase the total. Once again they reached the final but failed to lift the trophy.
Coming to the individual awards, Virat Kohli was awarded the most valuable player of IPL 2016. He heroically lifted his team's fortune after a sluggish start and helped his team reaching the IPL final. Kohli is also the highest run-scorer of the season with a total of 973 runs in 16 innings. In which he scored four hundred and seven fifties. Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Sunrisers Hyderabad is the highest wicket taker of this ninth edition of Indian Premier league. He took 23 wickets in 17 matches. Like every year, this year also, we have an emerging player of the season. Mustafizur Rahman of Sunrisers Hyderabad was declared the emerging player of IPL 2016. His tournament stats are 61 overs, 17 wickets with an average of 6.90.
