IPL 2016: Virat Kohli congratulates Sunrisers Hyderabad and thanks fans for support
Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli congratulated Sunrisers Hyderabad and thanked his fans for their support, adding that he loved his IPL journey this season. RCB lost to SRH by eight runs in the final of the ninth edition of the tournament on May 29 at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore.
"Loved the IPL journey so far. Congratulations Sunrisers Hyderabad. A huge thanks to RCB members, coaches and the support staff. Thank you to all the fans who have cheered for us and supported us always. I am indebted to your love. Thank you Bengaluru," he tweeted on Monday.
Kohli had an incredible run this season and broke a plethora of records with his scintillating batting skills. He had slammed four centuries, the most in a single edition, wherein two came against Gujarat Lions and one apiece against Rising Pune Supergiants and Kings XI Punjab.
The 27-year-old accumulated a total of 973 runs, the highest by any player in a season, at an average of 81.08 and a strike rate of 152.03. He earned the Orange Cap for this momentous feat and was also named the Most Valuable Player of the season.
Also read: IPL 2016: Royal Challengers Bangalore season review
RCB, who were one of the favourites to lift the trophy this year, finished second on the points table after winning four of their must-win matches. Kohli was instrumental in taking the team to the playoffs with his staggering knocks in the must-win matches.
The right-hander posted the following on his official Twitter handle:
Loved the IPL journey this year. Congratulations @SunRisers.
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 30, 2016
A huge thank you to @RCBTweets members, coaches & the support staff. (1/2)
Thank you to all the fans who have cheered for us & supported us always.
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 30, 2016
I am indebted to your love. Thank You Bengaluru #RCBForever (2/2)
RCB have failed to win the tournament since its inception in 2008, having made it to the final of the IPL on two previous occasion. The Bangalore franchise were also the runners-up of the Champions League T20 in 2011.
Kohli admitted that he was gutted by the loss during the post-match presentation.
"Definitely proud of the way we played as a team this season. I mentioned it before the finals, this was for people of Bengaluru. We wanted to do that for them. They have come out to support us in worst of seasons. I feel gutted that we have not been able to cross the line for them.
"I know the guys wanted to cross the line. We have reached finals twice once in Champions League as well. We would have been loved to be on other side of result," an emotional Kohli said.
The Indian Test team captain also said that he felt happy about the fact that he had scored more runs than the other world-class players, adding that reaching the final was the highlight of the season.