(Info4now, October 15, 2021)- Can you find any similarity between the two— one Chennai Super Kings and the other Kolkata Knight Riders? There are a few… There are Shakib, Narine, Karthik, Morgan for KKR and du Plessis, Dhoni, Jadeja and Uthappa in the XI of CSK. An abundance of experience mixed with a bit of failure. Those were tough games to finish things off as they were eyeing the final. Narine gets out and makes it easier for Tripathi against a right arm Ashwin, on the other hand Moeen Ali makes it tempting for Dhoni against a right arm medium fast. Now both are aware of such things as they face off against each other in CSK vs KKR final.
It had been in Abu Dhabi, 2014, before they clinched the trophy at Chinnaswamy. Easy to chase 152 against Rajasthan Royals and they crumbled in a hurry. So KKR again on such an occasion. 13 from 25. It was slow. It was tough. But even Delhi Capitals surrendered to that easy equation. But it was again the Riders who themselves turned the table. And in the mathematics of a wicket, with the nervousness of a high game, cricket played its own game. Kolkata lost the momentum and finally Ashwin had nothing to do against a right hand striker on a ground like Sharjah.
Preview of CSK vs KKR Final, IPL 2021
Rituraj Gaikwad is the key and Chennai fans will be hoping to get him in rhythm. The early wicket of Gaikwad may change the game quickly. So it’s his time to rise up to this level of competition. Faf du Plessis can read a game and must allow Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali a little time to gear up in the middle. After that the off-form middle order of Ambati Rayadu, M. S. Dhoni and Dwane Bravo is a problem for CSK. Down the order Shardul Thakur and Ravindra Jadeja can bat.
The CSK side includes exceptional T20 pace bowlers. Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Hazlewood and Bravo can make magic with their arms. All is brilliant to assess the batsmen’s movements. So KKR should be very calculative against them. In the spin department Ravindra Jadeja is an experienced one and Moeen Ali can take on the left hand striker of KKR.
As we said in the preview of Qualifier 2, Subhman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer and Rahul Tripathi have to remain committed to their respective tasks. It’s one final time. And they will have the time of their lives. KKR comprise an unsettled middle order and it’s why they mostly depend on the top order. Still the top order is not mature enough to have a perfect finish. But for the final one has to take this charge.
For KKR’S bowling, nothing to comment. It’s already a proven one. At Dubai, they have to bowl with the respective attitude of the wicket. In a final game a bowler must shake off any nervousness and it’s the only need for KKR now.
To Conclude
With much more bounce and speed on the wicket than Sharjah, the track of Dubai welcomes a ball to come to the bat. So it’s not going to be a low scoring game naturally. Chennai will go with the same XI as they are abounding in pace attacks. With one less spin, Shakib might be replaced by Andre Russell. But taking the long side of the ground to his favour, Shakib can take on Chennai’s right hand batsmen, even at the start. It looks as if two semi-champion teams of the tournament have jumped over the others with the ability to hide their loopholes. Now in a fifty-fifty one, in a nerve-jangling contest.