Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders are locking horns in the final of the Indian Premier League 2021 in Dubai. CSK are playing in their ninth final and have a fourth title in sight. On the other hand, this is KKR’s third IPL final and they are eyeing a third IPL title.
Eoin Morgan won the toss and kept the trend going as he decided to bowl first. Both teams fielded an unchanged playing XI for the summit clash.
Also Read: Faf du Plessis fifty helps CSK to big total in IPL final, Twitter reacts
Earlier, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis took CSK off to a good start. Gaikwad needed to score 24 runs to claim the orange cap and he did it inside the powerplay. The duo notched up the 50-run partnership in the powerplay as CSK scored 50/0 in six overs. Gaikwad got out after scoring 32 runs and Robin Uthappa walked out to bat at 3.
He started cutting loose as soon as he came out. Uthappa smashed three sixes in his innings of 31 runs before getting out to Sunil Narine. Meanwhile, Du Plessis scored yet another fifty in the IPL 2021. He found a good partner in Moeen Ali. Both batsmen tore the KKR bowling lineup apart and scored 68 runs in less than 7 overs.
Du Plessis was close to leapfrogging Gaikwad in the orange cap’s list but he got out on the last ball when he needed 2 runs to tie with his opening partner at 635 runs. Du Plessis scored 86 runs in 59 balls where he hit seven fours and three sixes. Moeen Ali remained not out on 37 in 20 balls, which featured two fours and three sixes.
In response, Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer gave KKR a good start. MS Dhoni dropped a straightforward catch of Iyer when he was on 0. Both openers played beautifully inside the powerplay and hit regular boundaries as KKR scored 55 runs for no wicket in the first six overs.
Also Read: MS Dhoni drops Venkatesh Iyer who punishes CSK with a six, watch here
Venkatesh Iyer scored yet another fifty and added 91 runs for the opening wicket with Gill. However, a flurry of wickets followed afterwards as KKR went from 91/0 to 108/4. Gill scored another fifty before another collapse for KKR as they got from 119/4 to 125/8.
Shivam Mavi and Lockie Ferguson hit a few lusty shots towards the death overs but they were of no use as the asking rate got high. CSK won the final by 27 runs and bagged their fourth IPL title.
See how Twitter reacted to the final;
Congratulations @ChennaiIPL! Don’t worry @KKRiders, we’re still 2 out of 3. Keep ur heads up!
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) October 15, 2021
How we define @msdhoni ? #IPLFinal #IPL2021Final #CSK #CSKvKKR #KKRvsCSK
— Monty Panesar (@zkp_scroll) October 15, 2021
What is it about #MSD and #CSk? Hopefully he will be in a chatty mood at the presentation
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 15, 2021
Well done CSK a great win and what can you say about @msdhoni
— David Warner (@davidwarner31) October 15, 2021
As they say, The comeback is always stronger than the setback. And who better than the comeback kings to prove it time and again. Well played @ChennaiIPL and very well fought @KKRiders .. Brilliant finish to the #IPLFinal
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) October 15, 2021
Well done to CSK
I mean, they pretty darn good 👍
Well done @faf1307 @ImranTahirSA @NgidiLungi Eric and Kingers
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) October 15, 2021
2020: 1st time #CSK finishes a low #7
2021: 7 gets them to #1 #IPLFinal— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) October 15, 2021
Moeen Ali becomes an IPL winner with @ChennaiIPL! 🏆🙌#IPLFinal pic.twitter.com/P4EalyVPli
— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) October 15, 2021
Well played #KKR, but hard luck
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) October 15, 2021
M S D 🙌🏻🙌🏻 Congratulations @ChennaiIPL 👏🏻👏🏻 #IPL2021Final
— Rashid Khan (@rashidkhan_19) October 15, 2021
Young Mavi handing out a lesson to KKR’s middle order which messed up run chase
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) October 15, 2021
Stephen Fleming is now the most successful coach in #IPL history.
He has now won his fourth title – all for #CSK
Mahela Jayawardene has won three for #MI #IPL2021Final #IPL2021 #IPL2O21 #IPL #KKRvCSK #CSKvKKR #KKRvsCSK— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) October 15, 2021
Congratulations @msdhoni and @ChennaiIPL on the 4th title.🏆🏆🏆👏👏👏. #IPLFinal #cskvskkr2021
Lots to learn from this campaign of @KKRiders, great turn around.— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) October 15, 2021
Cometh the hour, cometh the experience. du Plessis, Moeen, Uthappa, Bravo, Jadeja….. And the man controlling it from behind the stumps who has crafted an incredible turnaround for #CSK.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 15, 2021
If THIS is indeed Dhoni’s last game, what a finish for him. Winning the IPL, a title heavyweights have struggled to win, in his last hurrah will just be the icing on what has been a marvellous cake. Well Played MSD 👏👏 @msdhoni #CSK #CSKvsKKR #IPLFinal
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) October 15, 2021
Can't wait for thala @msdhoni lifting the cup tonight for the 4th time for @ChennaiIPL! #CSKvsKKR #KKRvCSK #IPLFinal #WhistlePodu
— Kris Srikkanth (@KrisSrikkanth) October 15, 2021
