KL Rahul and Virat Kohli (RCB Photo)
NEW DELHI: The disappointment of losing the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL) final still lingers for KL Rahul. Rahul was part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team, captained by Virat Kohli, that made it to the tournament’s final but lost to
Sunrisers Hyderabad
(SRH) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
In the final, SRH won the toss and chose to bat first, setting an impressive total of 208/7. Their innings was led by David Warner’s 69 off 38 balls, with key contributions from Yuvraj Singh (38 off 23) and Ben Cutting (39 not out off 15).
RCB’s chase began with promise, powered by a rapid 114-run partnership between Chris Gayle (76 off 38) and Kohli (54 off 35). However, SRH's disciplined bowling attack managed to contain RCB, and despite a strong lineup, RCB finished at 200/7, falling 8 runs short.
Reflecting on the final, Rahul said: "Virat Kohli and I have spoken about the 2016 IPL Final so many times. Had one of us played a little longer, we would have won the IPL. It was a very special year. It would've been a fairytale ending at the Chinnaswamy, but unfortunately, that didn't happen."
"I enjoyed my time the most at RCB in 2016. It could've been a fairytale story. Bengaluru is my home, and people there know me as a Kannada boy," Rahul, who scored 11 in the match, told Star Sports.
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Rahul played for RCB from 2013 to 2016 before moving briefly to Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014.
After joining Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) in 2018, he stayed until 2021. In 2022, he signed with Lucknow Super Giants, where he remained until 2024.
Rahul is currently in Australia preparing for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting November 22 in Perth.
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