West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd played a small but significant role with both bat and ball as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finally etched their name into the Indian Premier League history books, securing their first-ever title with a thrilling six-run win over Punjab Kings in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
After 18 seasons of near misses, heartbreaks, and endless memes, Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally delivered on the promise of their superstar-laden squads of the past, and 30-year-old Shepherd made his presence felt throughout the campaign.
In the showpiece, Shepherd hammered 17 runs off just nine balls, including a four and a six, which assisted RCB to a competitive 190-9 in their 20 overs. He returned to remove Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer cheaply for one, and despite going for 30 runs in his three overs, Shepherd’s breakthrough came at a critical point when momentum threatened to swing the other way.
Score: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 190-9 (20 overs); Punjab Kings 184-7 (20 overs)
After being sent to bat, RCB lost Phil Salt (16), who was caught off Kyle Jamieson. Virat Kohli, who made a 35-ball 43, including three boundaries, anchored two partnerships, first with Mayank Agarwal, who struck two fours and a six in an 18-ball 24, and the second with captain Rajat Patidar, who made 26 off 16.
When Kohli eventually fell, bowled and caught by Azmatullah Omarzai in the 15th over, RCB was 131-4, as Agarwal was earlier caught off Yuzvendra Chahal and Patidar was trapped in front by Jamieson. England’s Liam Livingstone slammed two sixes in his 25 off 15 balls, and Jitesh Sharma slammed two fours and two sixes in a 10-ball 24 before Shepherd added further impetus to the innings.
However, Arshdeep Singh grabbed three wickets, including that of Shepherd, to restrict RCB under the 200-run mark. Singh ended with 3-40, and Jamieson had 3-48.
Former West Indies star Chris Gayle celebrates with RCB. (Getty Images)
In reply, Punjab Kings gave the chase a strong push but lost wickets at regular intervals. Priyansh Arya (24 off 19), Prabhsimran Singh (26 off 22), and Josh Inglis, who had four sixes and one four in a 23-ball 39, all had decent starts but failed to push on, and when Shepherd removed Iyer, they were wobbling 98-4 in the 13th over.
Shashank Singh nearly stole the show with an unbeaten 61 off 30 balls, peppered with three fours and six sixes. But RCB’s bowling unit held their nerve. Krunal Pandya, who delivered a standout performance with 2-17 in four overs, and Yash Dayal, who took 1-18, helped stifle the chase at the death. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-38) also contributed.