(Cricket news) It is going to be a Goliath vs Goliath clash between the nine time finalist CSK and the two champions KKR in a mouth watering match. Both teams heading into the match will be equally stacked up as the teams are trying script a comeback story of their own, KKR this first half of the season looked down and out but have miraculously won 7 out their 9 matches in UAE, whereas CSK will look to do a complete 180 and win this years trophy after finishing bottom of the league last season in 2020.
KKR will get an added boost ahead of the final as Andre Russell will be fit for the final, KKR management provided an update saying Russell will be in the mix for the final after suffering a hamstring injury against CSK. For KKR this season, the turning point in all the recent matches have been the middle overs, they have picked up 29 wickets in 9 innings along with that they have also managed to score the most runs from overs 7-15 in the UAE leg. KKR’s revelation, Venkatesh Iyer will again be the man to watch out for as he along with Shubmann Gill at the top have given blistering starts to the team which help the middle order to play fearless cricket, a trend that will look to continue in the final. The key to success for KKR has been their lethal spin duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy who are the most economical bowlers this season.
For KKR it is key for them to get the openers early as Sunil Narine has dismissed Faf Du Plessis twice at strike rate of 67, a match up Eoin Morgan and Brendon McCullum will certainly be aware of and we might see Narine bowl in the powerplay. Another strategy punt the KKR think tank will use is bowling short to Ruturaj Gaikwad, 19 short or short-of-length balls have been bowled to him out of which he has been dismissed three times, a weakness surely Lockie Ferguson and Shivam Mavi will utilise.
CSK will have Suresh Raina back from injury but is unlikely to make the playing XI as Robin Uthappa showed his class and temperament last match which will most likely keep in the lineup. CSK will again rely heavily on their openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf Du Plessis to give them a good start and mostly defy KKRs lethal spin duo from picking up crucial wickets. CSK will need their bowling line up to pick up wickets early in the powerplay in order to expose KKR’s fragile middle order, the likes of Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik haven’t really been amongst the runs as CSK bowlers can expose this weakness.
CSK openers have made 1150 runs in this year's IPL which is the most by any IPL team this season, both the openers have a strike rate of almost 140 against pacer. For CSK the main reason for success has been Stephen Fleming's mantra of having distinguished roles in the team like Deepak Chahar: new ball, Ruturaj Gaikwad: anchor, Faf du Plessis: enforcer, Moeen Ali: aggressor, Dwayne Bravo: death bowling and Josh Hazlewood: hard lengths.
Pitch and weather report; An urge to win the toss and bowl first will likely continue as 9 out of 12 matches have been won by sides chasing, but out of all the UAE venues, Dubai has been the most batting friendly track. The pitch may offer something for the pacers up front but as the ball will get old spinners will come into play. The temperature is going to hover around 32 degrees with no chances of rain as of now.
Head to head: CSK 16 – 8 KKR, the last match they played CSK narrowly beat KKR by 2 wickets as Ravindra Jadeja was man of the match with 22 (8) & 1/21
Interesting facts:
- Andre Russell has 300 runs against CSK in 10 innings with a strike rate of 169.49
- MS Dhoni has an average of 35.57 and with a strike rate of 150 in IPL finals
- Ruturaj Gaikwad needs 23 runs to overtake KL Rahul for the orange cap
- The team chasing has won the last eight games in Dubai
- Knight Riders have restricted their opponents to under 140 in five of the six games they have bowled first in the UAE leg of IPL 2021.
- Moeen has been the most economical spinner so far this season, going at just 6.4, better than the likes of Varun Chakravarthy and Narine.
What to expect: KKR have six wins in UAE all have come in run chases, CSK have lost 5 matches this season all have come while setting targets. On the other hand CSK have a 100% chasing record this season, winning six out of six. Neither team has a particular advantage in this venue as both the teams have a 50% record of wins and loses in the Dubai International stadium. The last time they faced each other in the final KKR came out on top at Chepauk.
Also read: Kolkata Knight Riders to face Chennai Super Kings in IPL final
What the Captains said: "It's the full team (effort). It was the first time we didn't qualify last year and emotions were quite high, but whatever games we had towards the end of last year, we made the most of it. A lot of batters made the most of that. That's the reason we have come back strongly, but credit goes to the support staff and everyone in the team. Without that character, we couldn't have come back like this." – MS Dhoni.
“Six off two [against DC in Q2], the odds were probably in favour of the bowling side, but Rahul Tripathi has done superbly well for us. It's a nice insight into our team culture – the young guys coming in feel free to express themselves. The backroom staff have created an environment for them to do this. With the squad we have, there's expectation. Hopefully we can implement all that we've strategized. We would like to keep going, playing against CSK, one of the best franchises in IPL history." – Eoin Morgan.
Probable XI for KKR:
1 Venkatesh Iyer, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Rahul Tripathi, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Shakib Al Hasan/Andre Russell , 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Shivam Mavi, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Lockie Ferguson
Probable XI for CSK:
1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Robin Uthappa, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Josh Hazlewood
