Black Caps pace bowler Jacob Duffy celebrated an Indian Premier League title at his first attempt, as cricketing megastar Virat Kohli led their Royal Challengers Bengaluru to victory in the final.
Duffy went wicketless with the new ball but RCB were too strong in the decider, beating Gujarat Titans by five wickets in Ahmedabad on Monday (NZT) thanks to Kohli’s rapid 75 not out.
Now, rather than join his Black Caps team-mates in England, Duffy will return home to wife Tash to await the birth of their first child.
It continued Duffy’s remarkable highlights reel of the past year which saw him hit No 1 on the world T20I bowling rankings, secure his first IPL contract at a base price of around $380,000 at the player auction, then secure the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for men’s cricketer of the year in April.
“I’m honoured. These lists of [our top] names keep popping up for various things, records, awards and it doesn’t quite seem right to see my name amongst them,” Southlander Duffy said of his Hadlee medal in April.
