Virat Kohli era as RCB captain ends; The Balance sheet: Strong emotions, loyalty, bare cupboard

Sharjah, October 9: So, there was no glory ending. No Season 9 miracle. Virat Kohli's reign as the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain ended on Monday (October 11 in a heartbreak, just like it was in the previous eight seasons.

This time it was the turn of Kolkata Knight Riders to prolong the wait of RCB for their maiden IPL title with a four-wicket in the IPL 2021 Eliminator. But then there was a touch of familiarity in how the season panned out for the Royal Challengers.

They started off the block almost perfectly, razing the field in the first phase held in India and even a stuttering beginning to the UAE leg did not impact them much as they qualified for the play-offs as the third-placed team. They could have ended up on second but for a defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad in their penultimate league match.

But an old ghost returned to haunt RCB, their tendency to dish out an underwhelming effort in the knockouts. An experienced batting line-up was tied down by the KKR spinners - Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Shakib al Hasan. Narine was particularly destructive, as his four wickets were Kohli, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell and KS Bharat.

It was like breaking the axil of a smooth-running machine. Once Narine finished, there was nothing much left in the RCB innings. Kohli admitted it. ''The KKR spinners dominated the game in the middle overs. They kept taking wickets. We had a good start and should have tried to build on it. It was more about quality bowling than poor batting.

Narine, Shakib and Varun bowled amazingly together and created pressure together for our batters to not get their big shots. We left some 15 runs with the bat in the middle overs,'' said Kohli in the post-match presentation hosted by Star Sports.

A total of 138 was not a winning score in Sharjah despite a sluggish pitch but Kohli had the ammunition to make a fist out of it. But not giving an over to left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed will remain one those quirky decisions Kohli made as RCB captain.

It was tough to fathom why Kohli restricted himself to using two spinners even after experiencing first-hand the impact spinners can have on the Sharjah pitch. He too had the luxury of three spinners on his ranks. Maxwell went for 25 runs from 3 overs, Dan Christian gave away 29 runs off just 1.4 overs as Narine tore into him, and George Garton conceded 29 runs off three overs.

Kohli could have easily cut one or two overs from any of those three and tried Shahbaz. But he did not. Of course, the KKR batting order is brimming with left-handers, in fact 5 of top eight batsmen batted tonight for Kolkata were southpaws - Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Shakib and Narine.

Now, Kohli can fall back on that age-old left-arm bowler against left-handed batsmen theory. But here he had a chance to break the pattern but he went by it. Kohli trusted Christian to deliver but Narine used his genial pace to hammer him for three sixes and the big over changed the complexion of the match.

The RCB managed to eke out three wickets but they were more because of KKR batsmen playing unnecessary panic shots than any outright brilliance from Bangalore bowlers. In fact, that obstinacy to follow a trodden path has been the hallmark of Kohli's captaincy and the night was a microcosm of his whole stint at the helm.

But when he moves away from the hot seat, Kohi can turn back and ponder that it was not an altogether fruitless time at the top of the table. Yes, the RCB did not win a single title under him but some young names got a chance to express themselves. Devdutt Padikkal, Mohammad Siraj and much prior to them Yuzvendra Chahal came through the RCB stable.

Kohli too stressed on it as his legacy and a path for the future leader to follow from next year. ''I have tried my best to create a culture where youngsters can come and play expressive cricket. I have tried to do that in the India level as well,'' he told the host broadcaster after the match.

So, will he completely move away from the Royal Challengers when the IPL 2022 come? Kohli was quite clear.

''All I can say that I have given my best. I have given my 120 per cent to this franchise every time and will continue to do that as a player on the field. It is a great time to regroup and restructure the franchise for the next three years in the IPL. I will definitely play for RCB. For my loyalty matters and my commitment is to this franchise till the last day I play the IPL,'' said Kohli.

Strong words and stronger emotions. But that is all what remains when Kohli gives up the captain's arm band. If he was a bit more flexible tonight, Kohli could have said those words on October 15. Perhaps, in a much happier circumstances.