Chennai Super Kings claimed their fourth Indian Premier League (IPL) title, defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in 2021 final. MS Dhoni and his team had a miraculous return after finishing seventh last season and failing to qualify for the playoffs for the first time ever.
CSK scored 192 for three, thanks to a magnificent knock from Faf du Plessis. KKR achieved 165/9 in their 20 overs, falling considerably short of the goal despite a few lucky reprieves. For
CSK, Shardul Thakur was the man with the golden arm, striking twice in an over to kickstart the KKR's downfall.
Shardul Thakur grabbed three wickets, while Ravindra Jadeja, who was challenged by Venkatesh Iyer, took two wickets in an over to bring CSK on their way. Josh Hazlewood, an Australian pacer,
was indeed outstanding on the day, capturing two wickets for 29 runs in four overs.
KKR's chase got off to a lucky start when MS Dhoni dropped a sitter in the second over, giving Venkatesh Iyer, who was on zero at the time, a lifeline. Iyer didn't need any more
opportunities as he went about hitting the CSK bowlers all over the place.
Shubman Gill made some excellent shots as well, although he was the more cautious of the two. On contrary, Iyer was a man on a mission. On his way to his half-century, he hit three sixes
and five fours.
Then came one of the craziest moments in IPL history. Gill launched a powerful hit against Jadeja, but his shot was skyed, and the ball landed on the spider cam cable.
Ambati Rayudu did
an outstanding job keeping his cool and completing the catch, but the umpires ruled it a dead ball.
KKR appeared good to chase down the target, but all changed in the space of one over. In the 11th over, Shardul struck twice, first removing the dangerous Iyer and then striking Nitish Rana
for a golden duck on the last ball of the same over.
Sunil Narine was struck for 2 in the next over by Hazlewood. Gill reached his half-century but fell soon after as KKR collapsed from 91 for no loss to 108 for four.
Also Read: IPL 2021 Final: Magnificent du Plessis guides Chennai to 192/3
KKR's problems only got worse when Dinesh Karthik, Shakib Al Hasan, and Rahul Tripathi all went down in rapid succession. It all came down to captain Eoin Morgan, but the England captain
has been in disarray in the UAE, and it showed.
Morgan stuttered to 4 off 8 balls before being bundled out by Hazlewood, ultimately securing the title for CSK. Late fireworks from Shivam Mavi were only a consolation as CSK came out clear winners.
CSK openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis had earlier given their team a good start after being put in to bat. The duo put up a 61-run stand before Gaikwad was knocked for 32 off 27
balls by Sunil Narine. The combination of Du Plessis and Robin Uthappa then put on a 63-run for the second wicket. As CSK pressed the pedal, Uthappa hammered 31 off just 15 balls.
Despite losing Uthappa, Du Plessis continued going, even though Moeen Ali took a while to get going.
After settling in, the England all-rounder went on a tear, clearing the boundary three times in his 37-ball 20-ball innings.
Du Plessis, who had scored his half-century off 35 balls, pushed on, passing KL Rahul to become the season's second-highest run-getter, trailing only Gaikwad.
Du Plessis eventually fell for a magnificent 86 from 59 balls on the final ball of the innings.