A South Indian derby

After a disappointing start to the tournament that left RCB to the bottom of the table at one stage, Kohli inspired them to a charge up the table and secure a second place finish. He had a rare failure in Wednesday’s qualifier when he was bowled for a duck but South African AB de Villiers stepped up to the plate with an unbeaten 79 which just saw Bangalore over the line. 

Kohli has shattered the previous best aggregate in an IPL season by scoring 919 runs, including four centuries and six fifties. 

Kohli’s sensational performances have taken some of the pressure off his controversial team-mate Chris Gayle. 

Sunrisers Hdyerabad’s skipper David Warner has had his own fair share of controversy over the years but he has let his batting do the talking this year. 

Warner’s scintillating innings of 93 not out in Delhi on Friday night ensured his team’s qualification for the final which is being played in Bangalore. The Australian’s 58-ball blitz against Gujarat Lions was his eighth fifty, putting him second in the scoring chart behind Kohli with 779 runs. 

“The final is about not worrying about their players and executing our plans,” Warner said.

Hyderabad’s seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the leading wicket-taker with 23 scalps and he has received crucial support from his young Bangladeshi partner Mustafizur Rahman who has taken 16 wickets. 

After previous editions had been marred by fixing and corruption, this year’s tournament has managed to avoid any major scandal. 

However, the venue of the final had to be switched to Bangalore after judges banned Mumbai from hosting matches at a time when the state of Maharashtra has been blighted by drought. 

Neither of the finalists have ever won the tournament which is now in its ninth year.