CSK: 192/3 (20 overs)
KKR: 165/9 (20 overs)

Man of the Match: Faf du Plessis 

Egged on by a huge crowd which consisted a majority of CSK fans, crowd-favourites Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Kolkata Knightriders (KKR) by 27 runs in a tense and high-scoring match at the sprawling Dubai Cricket Stadium on Friday night. This is CSK’s 4th IPL title after a dramatic turn-around in fortunes from last year (2020) when it failed to make even the play-off stages. 

Faf, Ruturaj continue their golden run 

On the big-day, both the finalists kept their respective teams unchanged. Morgan called correctly at the toss with MSD and asked CSK to get the first hit with the bat. CSK went full-throttle right from the very first over itself. The due brought up CSK’s 50 in six overs. After hitting a few lust blows off Shakib, Ruturaj fell for a 27-ball 32 in the ninth over. Uthappa, who hit at will in Qualifier-1, continued from where left off. His 15-ball cameo brought 31 runs with three mighty sixes. Uthappa and Faf added 52 runs in just 5.2 overs. 

Uthappa, Moeen make merry with cameos 

Moeen Ali walked in as No.4 to make a mighty useful 20-ball 37 which included two 4’s and three 6’s. The left-right combo of Moeen and Faf added an unbelievable 68 runs in just 6.3 overs. Faf, who and Ruturaj are the tournament’s top two run-getters, got out off the last ball of the 20th over for an amazing 56-ball 89 with seven 4’s and three 6’s. Any score over 180 in a T20 match was always a tough target to chase and that too in a high-pressure final like IPL. 

Rollicking start by Venkatesh & Gill & Shadul’s double-strike 

KKR batters started not at an electrifying pace, with both Chahar and Hazlewood bowling admirable lengths. Dhoni’s dropped catch of lanky left-hander Venkatesh Iyer off Hazlewood in the second over after which both the batters got going. Iyer made a breezy 32-ball 50 which included five 4’s and three 6’s. He finally holed out to Jadeja off Shardul who also picked in-form Nitish Rana for a first-ball duck off the very next ball. Rana, who plays spin and pace with equal flair, was a key member of KKR especially in view of injury suffered by Rahul Tripathi earlier during CSK’s innings. 

Ball which got Gill 'declared' dead-ball, CSK strikes back with vengeance 

Jadeja earlier got Gill caught off a skier but it was declared a ‘dead-ball’ as the ball had hit a camera-wire during its downward fall before Rayudu caught it. Chennai fought back, kept picking wickets at regular intervals to reduce KKR from 91-0 in 10.2 overs to 120/6 in 15 overs. 

Dhoni’s captaincy to the fore to tie KKR down

Dhoni’s captaincy to bring Hazlewood to counter Sunil Narine (2 off 2), promoted to No.4, was a master-stroke as Narine was out in just 2 balls.  Dhoni’s in-between-overs chat with Chahar, Bravo and Jadeja kept them going especially in the first 10 overs when things weren’t going CSK’s way. 

When Gill’s laborious 43-ball 51 with six 4’s came to an end in the 14th over, KKR needed a whopping 85 runs in 6.3 overs with an out-of-form Morgan, Shakib and Dinesh to get them. All the three failed miserably, thanks to CSK’s alert fielding and Dhoni’s adept bowling changes. Mavi and Ferguson added a few runs in the last few overs but the match was over long back. 

Dhoni' lauds Tripathi’s bravery 

When a limping Rahul Tripathi (who came in to bat at No.8 in view of his injury) got out, Dhoni ran to him, patted him on the back and appreciated him for coming out to bat courageously braving his injury. That’s what is MSD for you!

Picture Courtesy: IPLT20.COM