Chennai Super Kings won the trophy in 2010, 2011 and 2018, while KKR won the IPL title in 2012 and 2014 under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir. This is the third final of KKR. Kolkata won their first title in 2012 by defeating CSK and on Friday, once again both the teams will face each other in the title match.
- Dhoni and Morgan are the two best captains
- No less than both Chennai and Kolkata
- Eyes on Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer
Dubai: Three-time champion Chennai Super Kings will face two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders team in the final of IPL 2021 today. Kolkata’s team has a record that it has not lost the IPL final even once, so Dhoni’s army will need to beware of Morgan’s stalwarts. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings will land for their fourth IPL title, while Kolkata’s eyes will also be on winning the third IPL trophy.
- No less than both Chennai and Kolkata
This is CSK’s 9th final in 12 seasons. Chennai Super Kings won the trophy in 2010, 2011 and 2018, while KKR won the IPL title in 2012 and 2014 under the captaincy of Gautam Gambhir. This is the third final of KKR. Kolkata won their first title in 2012 by defeating CSK and on Friday, once again both the teams will face each other in the title match. CSK had made it to the final of IPL 2021 by defeating Delhi Capitals in Qualifier-1.
- Dhoni and Morgan are the two best captains
At the same time, KKR defeated Delhi by three wickets in Qualifier-2 to enter the title match. Along with the title match between the two teams, it is also a contest between the two best limited overs captains like Dhoni and Morgan. Faf du Plessis, Rituraj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja have all done well with the bat for CSK, but they now have to face KKR’s spin trio like Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine.
- Runs will rain on the Dubai pitch
However, the pitch in Dubai is good as compared to the slow pitch in Sharjah. Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa and Dhoni can be beneficial in the middle order for CSK. Apart from these, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood and Dwayne Bravo have done well for CSK with the bowling but they come under pressure while chasing the target. On the other hand, there is the team of KKR, which has surprised everyone with its performance in the second phase of IPL. The secret of Kolkata’s success is also the young players playing fearlessly.
- Eyes on Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer
Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer have given the team a great start and Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana have also contributed. In the absence of Andre Russell who has been ruled out of the last few matches due to injury, Shakib’s all-round ability is balancing KKR. However, it will be interesting to see whether Russell will play in the final. KKR fast bowlers Lockie Ferguson and Shivam Mavi have been able to take wickets while Varun and Narine have been successful in troubling the opposition team. For KKR, however, the form of Morgan and Dinesh Karthik is a matter of concern, both of whom were dismissed without opening an account against Delhi.
- Who became IPL champion how many times
1. Mumbai Indians – Captain Rohit Sharma 5 times (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020)
2. Chennai Super Kings – Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni 3 times (2010, 2011 and 2018)
3. Kolkata Knight Riders – Captain Gautam Gambhir 2 times (2012 and 2014)
4. Sunrisers Hyderabad – 1 time (2016) Captain David Warner
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5. Deccan Chargers – 1 time (2009) Captain Adam Gilchrist
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6. Rajasthan Royals – 1 time (2008) Captain Shane Warne
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2008-2020 : List of Champions
2008: Rajasthan Royals (beat Chennai by 3 wickets)
2009: Deccan Chargers (beating Bengaluru by 6 runs)
2010: Chennai Super Kings (beating Mumbai by 22 runs)
2011: Chennai Super Kings (beating Bengaluru by 58 runs)
2012: Kolkata Knight Riders (beat Chennai by 5 wickets)
2013: Mumbai Indians (beat Chennai by 23 runs)
2014: Kolkata Knight Riders (beat Punjab by 3 wickets)
2015: Mumbai Indians (beat Chennai by 41 runs)
2016: Sunrisers Hyderabad (beat Bengaluru by 8 runs)
2017: Mumbai Indians (beat Rising Pune Supergiant by 1 run)
2018: Chennai Super Kings (beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets)
2019: Mumbai Indians (beat Chennai by 1 run)
2020: Mumbai Indians (beat Delhi Capitals by 5 wickets)
Both Teams:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (c), Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Pranab Krishna, Rahul Tripathi, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Tim Seifert, Varun Chakraborty, Shakib Al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer, Pawan Negi, Gurkeerat Man Singh and 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. Gautam, Cheteshwar Pujara, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagat Verma and C Hari Nishant.
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