In the IPL 2021 final, Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led franchise registered their fourth IPL title victory.
After losing the toss, Chennai Super Kings had to field in the final frontier of the season. The in-form opening pair provided a perfect start to CSK with 61 runs on the board for the first-wicket partnership. Ruturaj Gaikwad (31) was the first man to depart, Robin Uthappa was the number three batsman for CSK. The opening partner’s dismissal didn’t bother Faf du Plessis (86*) as he continued his shots and kept the scoreboard moving. Uthappa’s 31-run cameo helped CSK to increase the run rate in the middle overs. While reverse sweeping to Sunil Narine, Uthappa was hit on pads right in front of the stumps. Moeen Ali (37*) was the new batsman at the crease, the all-rounder was looking out of touch throughout the season. The England cricketer didn’t disappoint his teammates in the final as he started clearing the boundaries without taking much time to settle at the crease. While CSK lost three wickets in the first innings, Plessis held the other end and kept stitching partnerships. The former South African skipper was smashing the KKR bowlers in all parts of the ground and provided a strong finish to CSK with Ali.
The Chennai-based franchise registered a competitive target of 193 on the board at the loss of three wickets. CSK’s bowling unit went for runs in the powerplay. KKR’s opening pair had a perfect start to the run chase. In the second half of the innings, CSK made a comeback, the bowlers wrapped up KKR’s middle-order batsmen for a series of single-digit scores. The two-time IPL champions couldn’t recover after the middle-order collapse. Following the completion of the match, CSK won the fixture by 27 runs and claimed the fourth IPL title.
Shardul Thakur pocketed three wickets while Josh Hazlewood and Ravindra Jadeja had two scalps to their names. Dwayne Bravo and Deepak Chahar also grabbed one wicket each. On the other end for KKR, Shivam Mavi had one wicket while Sunil Narine had two dismissals. Faf du Plessis was adjudged the Man of the Match for his 86 off 59, his innings decorated with seven fours and three sixes.
Scorecard:
Chennai Super Kings: 192/3, Overs 20, Faf du Plessis (86*), Moeen Ali (37*), Sunil Narine (2/26)
Kolkata Knight Riders: 165/9, Overs 20, Shubman Gill (50), Venkatesh Iyer (50), Shardul Thakur (3/38)