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Kane williamson hit an undefeated 50 to lead Hyderabad sunrises to victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday and extend Virat Kohli’s wait for a first Indian Premier League title.
The tie win gave the Sunrisers one last chance to reach the IPL final in a qualifying tie against Delhi Capitals on Sunday.
New Zealand captain Williamson rescued his team as they struggled to reach a modest 131-7 in 20 overs set by Bangalore.
Williamson and Jason Holder of the West Indies posted 65 for fifth to lead the Sunrisers to 132-4 with two balls to spare.
Holder hit two fours in the final to ease his team’s nerves after they were frustrated by the Bangalore bowlers.
While Sunrisers captain David Warner praised his team’s brave performance, Kohli had to mourn yet another failure at the richest cricket tournament in the world.
The India captain, who has been to three IPL finals in 13 years, said Bangalore had failed to score enough runs in their innings to hope for another shot.
Kohli himself was out for six and Bangalore needed a 56 AB patient from Villiers to increase their total.
Giving away soft ground has also been the story of their season, which ended with five consecutive losses, two to the Sunrisers, who also beat Bangalore in their last final in 2016.
Kohli said young hitter Devdutt Padikkal, who has scored 473 runs in the tournament, has been a standout player and De Villiers’ tastes have been “solid as ever.”
“The others contributed, but not enough,” said Kohli, adding that 2020 has been “one of the most competitive in history,” as neither team had the advantage of playing at home in the United Arab Emirates.
The tournament has been moved to closed stadiums in the United Arab Emirates due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The final is in Dubai on Tuesday and the reigning champions Mumbai Indians have already booked their places.
