IPL 2021: Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs to clinch 4th IPL title

Chasing an imposing target of 193, KKR could manage 165 for 9 in their 20 overs with Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer hitting 51 and 50 respectively

When Chennai Super Kings failed to make the IPL playoffs last edition for the first time in their rich history, their talismanic skipper MS Dhoni famously remarked that they would be back ‘stronger’ in 2021. This season, the Super Kings have been nothing short of it, exactly a team that fans are used to seeing.

On Friday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the Super Kings laid the finishing touches to a roaring season with a dominant display, downing a resurgent Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs to ascend the throne for the fourth time.

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The emphatic win was first set up by a brilliant collective batting display in probably the best conditions on offer in the UAE leg as Super Kings posted an imposing 192/3. The ageless Faf du Plessis led the charge with a scintillating 59-ball 86 (7x4, 3x6) while Ruturaj Gaikwad (32, 27b, 3x4, 1x6), Robin Uthappa (31, 15b, 3x6) and Moeen Ali (37 n.o., 20b, 2x4, 3x6) contributed with handsome free-flowing knocks.

Although the Super Kings eventually galloped home, the Knight Riders, who previously hadn’t lost a final in two attempts, threatened to make it a hat-trick with a sensational start. Venkatesh Iyer, who has become the talk of the league with his incredible batting in the UAE leg, launched an audacious assault on the Super Kings.

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Betraying few nerves of being an IPL final, the 26-year-old southpaw, lucky to be dropped early in his innings by MS Dhoni, punished the Super Kings with a 32-ball 50 (5x4, 3x6). Piercing the field regularly and sending the ball soaring into the stands repeatedly, Iyer single-handedly threatened to spoil Super Kings plans of a grand party.

Even the usually calm Dhoni appeared to be getting some jitters as Iyer kept smashing everything. But even Dhoni knew it was just the matter of one breakthrough that his experienced bowlers needed before they could run through KKR. The wily Shardul Thakur, so often the man with the golden arm for Super Kings, provided that for Super Kings by dismissing the danger man Iyer in the 11th over.

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From 91/1, Knight Riders slipped to 120/6 by the end of the 15th over as Super Kings turned the game on its head with a brilliant bowling display. They took the pace off the ball, stifled the Knights with accurate lines and fielded exceptionally well as wickets kept tumbling. The "Yellow Army", which had descended in Dubai celebrated exuberantly, as Super Kings, dubbed the Dad’s Army for the vast number of players above 35 in the camp, wrapped up a farewell to remember.

A large credit for the triumph must go to Du Plessis for playing a high-quality inning. The 37-year-old supremely fit South African took his time at the start but once he got a measure of things, he was unstoppable. With others around him rallying brilliantly and ensuring the run-rate never dipped below 7.5 runs an over, Super Kings bludgeoned Knight Riders.

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