Credit: BCCI/IPL
The usual saying goes, once bitten, twice shy. But here's a batsman who has had to swallow the bitter pill of having lost an IPL final contest not once, but on three previous separate occasions. And even then, each time he's risen from the embers of darkness with newfound hope and inspiration.
It would have seemed like a cut too deep in the skin when twice Virat Kohli was part of the team that went down losing an IPL final by a single digit margin. Not once, but twice. But each time, he picked himself up akin to Bruce Wayne who confounds his deepset fears to rise as Gotham's ultimate knight, the Batman.
And while there's no scope for the Batman to feature in the IPL, there's always incessant pleasure to spot the main batsman for RCB, one in whose talent and willingness rests the key to glory.
It's the very thing that Royal Challengers Bengaluru so desperately seek in their bid to win an IPL final, this new occasion in 2025, being their fourth attempt to conquer the tournament's very end stage.
But all eyes will revolve on the great man himself: the king of hearts and a knight who's valiantly played his part. Here we look at how Virat Kohli has performed in the three finals he's contested before for RCB.
Virat Kohli in the 2009 IPL final, his first-ever appearance( (7 off 8)
This was a rather low key or, simply put, sad outing with the bat for the mesmerising batsman who underlines the word talent. So, what exactly happened back then? For starters, if you think about it, Kohli's first ever IPL final appearance came at a time where he was neither the captain of the RCB camp (which he'd become eventually) nor was it a period of time where the format had evidenced talents like Suyash Sharma, Sai Sudharsan, Rinku Singh or even Nicholas Pooran.
That's how far back in time it was, really.
But again, disappointment came to befriend one of the world's most remarkable cricketers and not to forget, his beloved franchise cricket team, RCB.
In the 2009 IPL final, that the RCB reached in just their second running in the tournament itself, Kohli made a single digit score. His score of 7 off just 8 deliveries represented a failure with the bat, but with that, the failure of a team as well that despite having enormously talented strokemakers like Ross Taylor and Dravid, Kallis and even Manish Pandey, failed to chase down the 144 run ask that the Deccan Chargers had challenged RCB with.
The Bangalore side were short by six runs in the end. Imagine if Kohli would have hitten a six himself? But then, cricket happens in the 'now', doesn't it?
The King's 2011 heartbreak
The Virat Kohli one saw in the 2009 IPL final was quite different from the thinking, calm and yet, fiercely competitive lad one saw two years later, in 2011 IPL final.
This game was contested against Chennai and the RCB were, quite frankly, targetted by a blazing batting performance by the CSK side.
The fact is that 206 is never an easy target to chase down in any IPL contest, let alone the mega final itself. But then, that's what happened on that fateful IPL final that now stands fourteen years back in time.
Kohli, who used to bat in the lower middle order for RCB in 2009, was now a top order player and he played several games in 2011 season from 3.
One down is a critical standpoint for any batting side and Kohli was exceptionally gifted to score runs from that position. And even though he tried all he could, his 32 run knock wasn't all that enough to support Bangalore's cause, the team reeling from the pressure in having to chase down a monumental final score.
What's remembered about the 2011 RCB failure in the final is that Virat didn't score that many runs but what about the fact that he actually top scored where it came to the first four RCB wickets?
Gayle made a duck while Mayank Agarwal made just 10. Even De Villiers, the legend, made 18 runs on that occasion. In comparison to some of the stalwarts in his side, Virat Kohli made a solid contribution, but it wasn't ever going to be enough in any way.
Yet so close to the crown, but ultimately, yet so far: the 2016 heartbreak (54 off 35)
The 2016 batter that Virat Kohli had become was monstrous in his capacity to decimate the opponent and in terms of his appetite for run scoring. That year alone, Kohli scored a whopping 973 IPL runs, the most he has ever scored in a single tournament edition.
May we get to see Virat score with that volcanic appetite again in what lies ahead but even then, in 2016, Virat Kohli, who made 54 off 35 deliveries in his team's requirement of 201 couldn't get the job done.
His was an inning laced with concentration, great timing and a perfect marriage between attack and restraint.
It remains, as on date, Virat's only half century when playing an IPL final but even then, his team fell short by 8 runs. Just 8.
Although, tonight's a different occasion and date, altogether.
