Just minutes after the toss, Kohli was seen going over to De Villiers, who was present at the venue for broadcasting duties. The two shared a small hug, before Kohli was spotted whispering a few words into the ears of the former South African international.

However, the viral moment also had a distraught Tim David in the background, who unfortunately missed out on making it to the playing XI for the final. The Aussie batter had suffered from a hamstring injury during the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad and hence subsequently missed RCB’s final league game, against the Lucknow Super Giants, and the Qualifier 1 clash against the Punjab Kings. Although the team management was hopeful of his return to fitness, with RCB getting a five-day break before the final, he failed to recover.

PBKS opted to bowl first

Punjab won the toss, and captain Shreyas Iyer, who became the second PBKS skipper to lead the franchise into an IPL final, opted to bowl first. This decision was contrary to the general trend in Ahmedabad, where teams batting first have won most matches. However, cloudy weather in the Gujarat city forced Iyer to opt for bowling first, a decision that saw them beat Mumbai Indians at the same venue on Sunday in the second Qualifier.

“Only want to give positive signs to my mind and body. It’s an amazing day. Crowd is electrifying. All we have to do is come here and cherish. Boys are in brilliant shape and mindset. All we spoke about in the team meeting is the more calm you are, the better. Nerves are fine. I won’t say it’s just like another game. It’s the final and we’re going to play like a final. Tremendous feeling just thinking about lifting the trophy,” he said after the toss.

Both teams did not make any changes to their XI.