A tale of missed scoops, tight overs, and a legend's lingering regret from the 2009 IPL Final
It's the kind of memory that clings like a shadow — not loud, but always there. For Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the 2009 IPL Final wasn't just a cricket match but a crossroads. A night that could've changed everything.
Anil Kumble, leading from the front with a spell for the ages, had pulled them to the brink of glory. All that remained was a modest chase of 144. But in the world of sport, 'modest' is a word best taken with caution.
A few missed chances, a couple of poor shots, and an over that continues to haunt — that's all it took for a title to slip through their fingers.
What if Robin Uthappa hadn't tried that scoop? What if Praveen Kumar hadn't bowled those wides? What if Kumble had got the strike just one ball earlier? This isn't just a throwback — it's a tale of what might have been.
Credit: ESPN
The final, held in Johannesburg, showcased a contrast of captains. One was a gritty Indian legend, and the other a flamboyant Aussie left-hander: Anil Kumble vs Adam Gilchrist. On paper, the Deccan Chargers had a stronger unit. However, Kumble, with his no-fuss leadership, had guided RCB through crunch games and now stood one win away from history.
Put into bat first, RCB restricted the Chargers to a modest 143/6. It was classic Kumble — accuracy, pressure, results. His figures? A stunning 4 for 16. Gilchrist was gone for a duck, and Rohit Sharma, then just 22, managed only 24. The momentum? Firmly with Bengaluru.
Credit: ESPN
RCB's reply began steadily. Jacques Kallis laid the foundation with a patient 16, while Manish Pandey — the boy wonder who had struck a century in the semi-final — was dismissed for just 4. Rahul Dravid attempted to anchor the innings, and Kohli contributed, but no one truly accelerated the scoring.
At 129 for 6, they required 15 runs from the final over.
A thriller was on the cards. Kumble, coming in with his bat for the first time in the match, faced RP Singh. Robin Uthappa, the established batter, was at the other end. The strategy? Simple. Uthappa would aim for the big hits or at least rotate the strike.
But cricket, as it often does, had drama up its sleeve.
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First ball — Kumble gets off strike. Five balls remain. Uthappa attempts to scoop. Dot. Next — another scoop. Another dot. A third time? Same approach, same result. Meanwhile, Kumble, watching from the non-striker's end, kept gesturing — swing, slog, just give me the strike!
But it wasn't to be.
RCB fell short by just 6 runs.
Credit: Times Now
Years later, that night still stings. Kumble, speaking on a YouTube chat with Ashwin, shared how he "kept begging" Uthappa not to scoop—not against RP Singh, not in a final. But emotions ran high, and plans fell apart in the heat of the moment.
He also mentioned Praveen Kumar's 5 wides — a silent leak that undermined the chase early. Small moments, big impact. The margin of defeat? Just six runs.
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RCB has played two finals since then—2011 and 2016—and lost both. Kohli's tears in 2016 mirror Kumble's regret from 2009. That elusive title has become RCB's white whale.
What if Uthappa had slogged? What if Praveen hadn't bowled those wides? What if Kumble had just one more ball to swing?
