IPL Pulse: See you soon

Good morning

It's the morning after the night before. Sunday night's revelry has quickly been replaced by Monday morning's drudgery. The IPL has ended but before the existential dread about what you're going to do at 7:30 PM everyday sets in, here's Cricketlineguruji Pulse, your two-minute scan of the IPL-verse, with one final glance.

Last night in five lines

RCB defended their title and made it look easy

Batting first, GT were bounced out and made just 155

The Buttler gamble at No. 4 backfired badly

Venkatesh Iyer and Kohli got RCB off to a blazing start

GT fought back through Rashid but ice-cold Kohli didn't relent

Oh, that happened

A Virat Kohli special in the final indeed happened. And guess what, it ended with him hitting the winning six. Smashing his fastest ever IPL fifty (off 25 balls), Kohli aced another chase and finished with 75* off 42. "I've thought of this moment many times, that, you know, once when we win the IPL, I should be standing there hitting the winning runs and tonight it was possible," he said after bagging the Player of the Final award.

Pulse Awards

The fated-Furies-fulfilled award goes to Virat Kohli for ticking off a bucket-list item not just for himself but for millions of others by hitting the title-winning six.

The prescribed-patience award goes to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for winning a car that he cannot drive for at least the next three years.

The vice-grip award goes to Sai Sudharsan for holding his bat tight and not getting out hit-wicket a third consecutive time.

The un-vice-grip award goes to Jordan Cox and Shubman Gill, who needed assistance from the ground to hold on to (eventually classed dropped) catches with their fingertips.

The slippery-syllables award goes to Ravi Shastri for addressing Shubman Gill as 'Shubnam' during the post-match interview.

Talking point

Rasikh Dar and Venkatesh Iyer played crucial roles in RCB's title defence. RCB were without Yash Dayal, a vital cog in their triumph last season. Rasikh not only filled the void but grew into a reliable all-phase bowler as the tournament progressed. Iyer, meanwhile, patiently waited for his opportunity and stepped in wherever required - from serving as an Impact Player, middle-order dasher and finally an opener. If Rasikh's season was about filling a gap, Venkatesh Iyer's was about waiting for one. Here's more on how they gave RCB the luxury of options.

The Chatter

Rajat Patidar said that he "never dreamt" of captaining RCB and lifting a trophy. He felt grateful and that "it was all written."

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, after sweeping most of the awards, admitted to feeling a little pressure. Not out in the middle but while doing his interview. "Feeling a little pressure because I'm here for an interview," he said.

Virat Kohli said that having "super young players pushing you all the time" was an "exciting situation" because it gives him "something to improve on and something to work towards."

Krunal Pandya likened winning IPL trophies to having kids, saying each one is special and that "you can't pick" a favourite.

Rajat Patidar signed off by saying the hallowed phrase - "Ee Salanu Cup Namdu"

Stat Snack

IPL 2026 had:

Most runs in an edition - 27,450

Highest runs/wicket in an edition - 31.26

Highest run-rate in an edition - 9.88

Most fours in an edition - 2332

Most sixes in an edition - 1426

Most individual hundreds - 15

Most 200-plus totals - 65

Most successful 200-plus chases - 17

Gossip Column

With the ever-squeezed cricket calendar not leaving enough room to expand the IPL's fixture list, the powers that be are considering splitting the tournament into two and staging just the second half in the Sept-Oct window. That way, fans can get entertainment throughout the year with minimal disruption. The birdies are now off to a well-deserved vacation after dropping that banger.

Today's watchlist

*sobs*

Reckless prediction for tonight

It was all just a dream, you suddenly wake up at 6:30pm this evening and check the date - it's March 28, 2026.