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.
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.
Ahead of the IPL 2021 final between CSK and KKR, take a look at important stats:
Head to head:
CSK clearly dominate Kolkata Knight Riders when it comes to the head-to-head record between the two sides. MS Dhoni & Co. has won 16 matches out of 24 meetings against KKR. KKR had defeated CSK in the last meeting between the two sides in a final.
Stats:
- CSK have been unbeaten this season against Kolkata Knight Riders.
- Suresh Raina has smashed 747 runs in CSK vs KKR fixtures while Andre Russell has amassed 300 runs in his last 10 matches against the Dhoni-led side.
- CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad is just 23 runs away from toppling KL Rahul on top of the list of highest run-getters in IPL 2021.
- Man in form, Sunil Narine, has taken the most wickets (19) for KKR against CSK.
- The IPL 2021 final will be Dhoni’s record 300th appearance in T20 cricket.
Teams:
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik(w), Eoin Morgan(c), Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy
