MS Dhoni’s experienced Chennai Super Kings will lock horns with resurgent Kolkata Knight Riders, led by Eoin Morgan, in the high-octane grand finale of IPL 2021 at Dubai International Stadium, in Dubai on Friday (October 15). It will be a record ninth final appearance in 12 editions for Chennai, who have won three titles in 2010, 2011, and 2018 while KKR, who have won the trophy in 2012 and 2014 under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir, will play their third final. It will also be a repeat of the 2012 IPL final, where both teams faced each other.
CSK beat Delhi Capitals by four wickets in Qualifier 1 in Dubai and became the first team to reach IPL 2021 final and Kolkata also defeated the same team by three wickets in Qualifier 2 on Wednesday to set up the blockbuster final showdown against MS Dhoni’s team. The summit clash on Friday will also be a battle between the two best white-ball captains MS Dhoni and Eoin Morgan, who might be short of runs but have been smart in their tactics on the field.
Openers Faf du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad along with Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja have done exceedingly well with the bat for CSK. But, how they deal with the 12 quality overs from KKR’s spin trio of Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, and Sunil Narine, can decide the outcome of the final. However, the final match will be played on a better pitch in Dubai in comparison to a slow and sluggish tack of Sharjah. And the likes of Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa and MS Dhoni in middle overs can heave a sigh of relief.
On the other hand, Eoin Morgan-led KKR have been on a fairytale ride since the UAE leg of the tournament began. A bulk of Kolkata’s success in the UAE leg has been due to the fearless approach by their youngsters. Openers Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer have given them fantastic starts and Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana have also chipped in with useful innings.
. #KKR #CSKvKKR #AmiKKR #KorboLorboJeetbo #aamiKKR #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/D6fS22nu2H
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) October 15, 2021
Shakib’s all-round abilities have provided more balance to KKR in absence of Andre Russell, who sustained a hamstring injury. It will be interesting to see whether Russell becomes fit to play in the final or not. Their pacers Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi have picked wickets at regular intervals while spinners Varun Chakravarthy, and Sunil Narine have stifled opposition batsmen with disciplined bowling.
Teams (From):
Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (C), Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik (W), Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Rahul Tripathi, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Tim Seifert, Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer, Pawan Negi, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Tim Southee
Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, KM Asif, Deepak Chahar, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, N Jagadeesan, Karn Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur, R Sai Kishore, Moeen Ali, K Gowtham, Cheteshwar Pujara, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Varma, C Hari Nishaanth.
What time does the IPL 2021 Final between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders begin?
The IPL 2021 Final between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders is scheduled to start at 07:30 pm. The toss will take place at 07:00 pm.
Where is the IPL 2021 Final between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders taking place?
The IPL 2021 Final between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders will be played in Dubai.
Which TV channel will broadcast IPL 2021 Final between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders?
The IPL 2021 Final between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders will broadcast LIVE on Star Sports 1/HD.
Where can I catch the live streaming of the IPL 2021 Final between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders?
The live streaming of the IPL 2021 Final between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders will be available on the Hotstar app and website. You can also catch the live commentary/scorecard and latest updates of the match here at zeenews.india.com.
