On This Day: Anil Kumble's RCB reached its maiden IPL final; registered THIS rare feat

On this day in 2009, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had reached its maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) final, where it lost to Deccan Chargers by six runs. The final may have ended in the Hyderabad-based franchise's favour, but it was RCB, who was everyone's favourite after the conclusion of the first innings. It was one of those rare games, where the player of the match award went to the member of the losing side. RCB skipper Anil Kumble received the trophy for his exceptional performance with the ball on the night of the final. 

The enthralling final

After winning the toss, RCB had elected to field first. RCB managed to bundle up the Chargers for 143/6 in 20 overs. South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs scored 48-ball 53 runs for the now-defunct DC and was the only player in the match to score a half-century. While Andrew Symonds scored 21-ball 33 runs, the current Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma hit 24 runs off 23 balls before they were both dismissed by Kumble. At the end of the innings, Deccan Chargers had 143 runs on the board. 

What looked an easy chase from the look of it, proved to be a steep mountain climb for Kumble and his team. RCB was bowled out for a mere 137 runs and with that, the hopes of winning the maiden IPL title were shattered for the franchise and fans. No RCB batsman could score more than Roelof van der Merwe's 32 runs, which was the highest individual score in the innings despite the team having the likes of Jacques Kallis, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Ross Taylor, Mark Boucher, and Manish Pandey. Remember, Pandey had become the first Indian to score a century in the IPL earlier on in the season. 

Eventually, RCB lost the match as Pragyan Ojha from the opposite team took 3 wickets, while Symonds and Harmeet Singh took 2 wickets each. Ryan Harris and RP Singh also scalped one wicket each from the four overs that they bowled in the match. However, despite the loss at Johannesburg, South Africa, it was the captain of the losing side who was awarded the player of the match trophy. Kumble got the award for picking up 4/16 in 4 overs at an economy of 4.00. 

(Image Credit: RCB/Website)