Contrary to popular expectations, the Royal Challengers Bangalore fell short in the IPL 2016 final as a Warner-inspired Sunrisers Hyderabad went on to lift the trophy for the first time. There was disappoint for the Bangalore outfit who have played some amazing and entertaining cricket this season.
Virat Kohli even with 973 runs this season could not lead his side to the ultimate glory. And it was a familiar story for AB de Villiers as the most precious trophies continue to elude him. As the excitement and euphoria begin to settle down, let us look at 5 things we learnt from the IPL 2016 final.
1) Chris Gayle still has a lot left to offer
The last few months have not been good for Chris Gayle. Getting embroiled in one needless controversy after another, Gayle's bat had stopped talking in the tournament. Amidst his garrulous outbursts, he had contributed precious little to the point that he had to be dropped by the RCB for a few matches.
There were naysayers busy writing off Gayle saying that he was past his prime and now missed the magic touch. But chasing a huge total of 208 in a big final, Gayle answered his critics with the bat.
If RCB had any hopes of getting close to the huge SRH total, they badly needed a significant contribution at the top of the order. And it was then that Gayle-storm hit Bengaluru. Bowlers kept disappearing as Gayle seemed to be back at his regal best, hitting all over the park.
He ensured almost single-handedly that RCB had raced off to 100 runs off 9 overs. He finished with 76 off 38 balls. It was his dismissal that turned things around against the RCB. But Gayle has shown the world that he is not done yet.
2) Ben provided the 'cutting' edge
Ben Cutting came to the IPL with a huge reputation of being known as a big-hitter in the Australian domestic circuit. But he hardly did justice to his talent as he failed to make a significant contribution in the matches leading up to the final.
It was to Warner's credit that he chose to persevere with Cutting even when they had the likes of Kane Williamson and Eoin Morgan warming the bench. And Cutting paid back his captain's faith by coming up with a match-winning performance in the all-important final.
With the flurry of wickets towards the end, it seemed at one stage that SRH would struggle to reach the 180-mark. It was then Cutting stepped in displaying his clean hitting prowess with incredible ease.
He went on to score a quick fire 39 off 15 balls that included 24 runs off the last over bowled by Shane Watson. With ball in hand, Cutting was once again the hero with the prized scalps of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul. He turned the match on its head with his all-round performance.
3) David Warner carried SRH on his shoulders
David Warner received a lot of harsh criticism for his indifferent form in the ICC World T20 2016. He looked woefully out of form which was surprising because of his familiarity with the sub-continental conditions.
In this year's IPL, it was a very different story as Warner looked like a man on a mission. Leading from the front, Warner turned into a run machine as he kept scoring for fun throughout the tournament.
His batting bravado eclipsed the weaknesses of an otherwise seemingly ordinary SRH side. And not just with the bat, as a captain Warner has been inspirational throughout the tournament, leading his side with aplomb.
On the day of the all-important final, it was Warner again who led from the front. Winning the toss, he had the audacity to choose to bat first given RCB's stellar record while chasing. But Warner himself wanted to set the tone and firmly took the reins as he gave the SRH a lightening start.
He scored 69 off 38 balls and finished with 848 runs in this edition of the IPL. Even on the day of the final, he marshalled his troops masterfully and put in the hard yards in the field. His celebration showed how much it meant to him -- Warner had carried SRH on his shoulders.
4) SRH had the best bowlers at the death
The IPL 2016 final showcased, once again, that amidst the mayhem when batsmen are having a great day in the park, the preciousness of good death-bowling can never be estimated. The RCB after their boisterous start looked well on course to victory after the SRH bowlers pulled things back.
The duo of Mustafizur Rahman and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been phenomenal for SRH through the tournament. They also show us the reason why a stellar side like RCB ultimately failed in the final hurdle -- a side, in addition to having great batsmen, also needs reliable bowlers when it matters the most.
Mustafizur has delivered throughout the season showing everyone that the hype surrounding him is not at all unjustified. With his slow cutters and fast yorkers, he has troubled batsmen throughout the tournament. Even when Gayle and Kohli were going all guns blazing, they had difficulty scoring off him.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar looks like a much-changed bowler now with the extra pace, occasional swing and inch-perfect yorkers at the death. It was his brilliant wicket-taking ability that earned him the purple cap thanks to his 23 scalps.
47 off 24 balls have been achieved often enough in this IPL to the extent that it can be considered to be an equation much in the favour of the batting team. But with Bhuvneshwar and Mustafizur on the mark, RCB could not knock off the runs in the last four overs.
5) Watson failed to deliver when it mattered
Throughout this edition of the IPL, the RCB fans have fallen in love with Shane Watson. The big-hitting Australian all-rounder who hung up his boots in the World T20 2016 was considered by some to be good enough to still carry on at the international level.
And with runs and wickets this season in the IPL, Watson showed what he is capable of doing. He contributed a few runs with the bat but as a bowler he was phenomenal, taking the pace off the ball and picking crucial wickets. He also turned into a brilliant bowler at the death executing perfect yorkers.
In the final, however, Watson showed glimpses of being well past his prime. Under the pump, his bowling was abysmal at the death as he conceded 61 runs off his four overs which included the mammoth 24-run last over. Those crucial runs turned out to be the difference at the end.
With bat in hand, Watson had a final chance for redemption as RCB needed 47 runs off the last 4 overs. There seemed to be hope as he hit a brilliant straight six but perished soon after contributing precious little to the score. His departure dealt a heavy blow to RCB's chances. Watson had a bad day in the office when it mattered the most.
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