IPL 2021 - CSK vs KKR, Finals: Chennai clean up KKR, take home fourth IPL Trophy

Du Plessis, Moeen, Thakur and Hazlewood help Chennai lift their fourth IPL Title.

Chennai Super Kings 192 for 3 (du Plessis 86, Moeen 37*, Narin 2/26) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 165 for 9 (Gill 51, Iyer 50, Thakur 3-38, Hazlewood 2/29) by 27 runs

CSK lift the IPL trophy for the fourth time only MI have more trophies (Cricbuzz/Twitter)

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) faced Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the grand final of IPL 2021 in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Dubai International Stadium.

Kolkata wins the toss, opts field

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and chose to field. They kept the same eleven from the previous match, which defeated Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers in back-to-back games. Also, Chennai Super Kings didn’t make any changes in their eleven.

Chennai takes off with a dazzling start

Like their previous matches, Kolkata Knight Riders tried to trap Chennai openers in the spin web of Shakib Al Hasan and Varun Chakravarthy however, Chennai’s dasher Ruturaj Gaikwad hammered two consecutive boundaries to Shakib, while his partner Faf du Plessis did the same in the over of Lockie Ferguson. They put up a partnership of fifty runs in the powerplay overs. But before that wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik missed a chance of stumping Faf du Plessis, off the delivery of Shakib Al Hasan.

Uthappa's onslaught

On the first ball after the Time-out break, Gaikwad went for a lofted shot over the long-off but mistimed it to reach in the hands of Shivam Mavi. This way, Sunil Narine gave the first breakthrough to Kolkata. However, one down batsman Robin Uthappa looked settled from the first ball and smashed a towering six over deep mid-wicket to Shakib.

On the other hand, Plessis continued to hit awe-inspiring boundaries to Shakib and Ferguson. He smacked a total of 17 runs in one over of Ferguson to shatter the pacer’s morale. The Proteas willow-wielder also completed his half-century in just 35 deliveries. Meanwhile, Narine dropped a catch of Uthappa when he was playing on 13, as Uthappa hit a ball straight towards the bowler.

Uthappa played some dazzling strokes against spinners, including a bumper six over deep mid-wicket to Chakravarthy and a colossal six over cow corner to Narine. Although, Narine replied immediately by trapping Uthappa plumb in front of the wicket. Uthappa finished his adventurous innings on 31 runs off just 15 balls.

Moeen Ali and Plessis continue the carnage to take Chennai to 192

Even if Narine sent Uthappa back in the hut, next batter Moeen Ali gave no respite to Kolkata bowlers and struck two sixes in the over of Shivam Mavi. Plessis continued to become the nemesis of Kolkata bowlers, especially of Ferguson. The 37-years-old batter whipped three more boundaries to Ferguson to take 19 runs in his last over of innings.

Ferguson finished his bowling quota with miserable figures of 56/0. In the next over, Moeen Ali collected two more boundaries. Mavi did bowl a remarkable final over of the innings but, Chennai had already put enough on the board, 192 in 20 overs. Faf Du Plessis got out on the last ball of the innings scoring 86 runs off just 59 balls including seven fours and three sixes.

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Kolkata openers provide a splendid start

Kolkata openers reached the crease to chase a target of 193 in this high-pressure final match. Early in the innings, Venkatesh Iyer dropped behind the wicket by wicket-keeper MS Dhoni on a sharp bouncer bowled by Josh Hazlewood. On the next delivery, Iyer smoked a maximum over backwards square leg by using the bounce of the delivery of Hazlewood. As Iyer got new life by Dhoni, He started his onslaught by two boundaries to Deepak Chahar.

His partner Shubman Gill struck a boundary as Shardul Thakur couldn’t reach the ball, which dipped in front of his fingers. On the same note, Iyer also collected a boundary off a thick edge from his bat slipped through the gloves of Dhoni to reach the boundary rope. Kolkata recorded 55 runs in the powerplay without losing any wicket.

Shardul Thakur unlocks the door to the fragile middle order of Kolkata

Iyer slogged a mesmerising sitting six to Ravindra Jadeja over wide long-on by resting back knee on the ground. The southpaw completed his fifty in just 32 balls. Iyer lost his wicket while playing a lofted hit over extra cover, but it only got the only height to rest in the safe hands of Jadeja. After taking the wicket of Iyer, Shardul Thakur also sent back Nitish Rana in the pavilion on a golden duck, as Plessis caught him at mid-off.

Kolkata middle-order gift game to Chennai

These two wickets by Thakur turned out to be the turning point in the game, as Kolkata lost two wickets more in the next few overs. Josh Hazlewood picked up the wicket of dangerous pinch hitter Sunil Narine on 2, while Deepak Chahar trapped Gill plumb in front of the wicket as Gill tried an unorthodox shot. Gill made 51 runs 43 balls comprising of six boundaries.

Wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik started with cracking six on the first ball by pulling a short ball though he got out in the next over after pulling the short ball straight in the hands of Ambati Rayudu, at deep backwards square leg. Asking run-rate went above 12, pressure increases on Kolkata batters, which forced them to play shots in frustration. Jadeja also picked the wicket of left-handed Shakib Al Hasan in the same over.

Chennai conquer the IPL 2021, fourth IPL Trophy

Next batter Rahul Tripathi came in the middle limping with one leg, as he got injured while fielding. He couldn’t trouble scorers much and he got out on 2. As wickets were tumbling in every over, the resistance of Kolkata looked close to the end.

As Kolkata skipper Eoin Morgan got out on the paltry score of 4, it was just a matter of time for Chennai Super Kings to lift the IPL 2021 trophy. Although tailenders Shivam Mavi and Ferguson hammered some strokes in the last few overs, Kolkata could reach only 165 runs by losing nine wickets in 20 overs. By beating Kolkata by 27 runs in the IPL 2021 finals, Chennai Super Kings clinched the decorated IPL trophy in 2021, the fourth time overall.

Top Twitter Reactions as CSK beat KKR in the Finals

Thala Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in the IPL 2021 Finals and lift the trophy for the fourth time. With this win, CSK become the most successful franchise after Mumbai Indians in the history of IPL. Twitter went crazy as Dhoni's men beat KKR. Here are some of the finest Twitter Reactions from CSKvsKKR: