Kohli's brilliance apart, IPL 9 signalled a new sunrise for Hyderabad

If cricket is as much about nerve as skill, if not more, Sunrisers Hyderabad clinched an unlikely victory, since pretty much everything was against it, save perhaps a sense of detachment from victory.

Yuvraj Singh’s words turned prophetic. He had said before the match that his team was looking forward to having a good time on the field and that was about it, while Royal Challengers Bangalore perhaps had reason to worry.

For the RCB, it was its home ground, more than 30,000 fans were cheering (and cheering really loud), besides the fact that sufficient time was spent on practice and relaxation after the qualifier against the Gujarat Lions.

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For the SRH, it was the added pressure of winning in two matches to qualify for the final, plus travel minus the mass hysteria for it on the day of the final.

The RCB had a dream batting line-up with the dreaded and revered Chris Gayle-Virat Kohli-AB de Villiers troika in its best form ever, ready to wreak havoc from ball one to the finish. Chasing a target is its game and it loves finishing off in style too.

The SRH's big player in this league had been its captain David Warner. And the decision to bat first would have turned difficult if not detrimental had the total not been as big as 208 runs.

But it would have been no big deal to chase down for Kohli and company. The RCB batting line-up was capable of achieving the target and more.

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So what magic spell was it that ruined RCB's fairy tale? Did winning seven of their last eight matches make the RCB players complacent? Was their appetite already satiated many times over? Or rather, did the sheer desire to win overshadow their otherwise keen focus somehow?

On the other hand, the SRH seemed like it had nothing to lose and played like every over was special in itself. Warner and company showed everyone how orange was the new red, by winning the IPL 2016 final. If you were to put it the Hyderabadi way, it would go something like this: "Runa bhi jabardast mare, wicketan bhi mast liye. Apne logan kyaa khatarnak khele miya!"