IPL 2021 Final | Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders - BONS preview, head to head, where to watch, and betting tips
Chennai Super Kings will be up against Kolkata Knight Riders in the final of the IPL 2021 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday, October 15. Chennai won against Delhi by 4 wickets in Qualifier 1 while Kolkata also defeated Delhi in Qualifier 2 by 3 wickets to enter the final.
BONS Preview
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will play against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to win their fourth IPL title (2010, 11, 18) while KKR will aim to give their best and win their third trophy (2012, 14) in the history of the tournament.
CSK played a close contest with Delhi Capitals (DC) in Qualifier 1 winning by 4 wickets. Bowling first, CSK restricted the opposition for 172. Josh Hazlewood was the pick of the bowlers with 2 wickets from 29 runs in his spell. Chasing the target, Faf du Plessis was dismissed on a score of 1 before Ruturaj Gaikwad and Robin Uthappa played superb knocks and scored half-centuries. Ruturaj scored 70 runs while Robin Uthappa amassed 63 runs. MS Dhoni played a cameo of unbeaten 18 runs from 6 balls at the back end and won the match for the team. Robin Uthappa scoring runs for the team is a positive and the middle-order has found their rhythm at the correct time.
After beating RCB in the Eliminator, KKR won against DC in Qualifier 2 at Sharjah by 3 wickets. Bowling first, KKR restricted the opposition on a low total of 135 runs. Varun Chakravarthy impressed all over again and picked 2 wickets for 26 runs. Chasing the target, Shubhman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer gave a solid start to the team. They built a partnership of 96 runs for the opening wicket. KKR lost seven quick wickets at the back end of the innings but they chased the target in the last over thanks to Rahul Tripathi six off R Ashwin on the penultimate ball of the last over. The form of the batsmen in the lower middle-order - Dinesh Karthik, Eoin Morgan, and Shakib Al Hasan is a concern for the team. Rahul Tripathi rescued KKR against DC, but the trio will have to step up to steer their team past such trouble in the final.
Form Guide
Chennai Super Kings - W L L L W
Only two victories in the last five games is not a good record for a team eyeing the IPL trophy but the team handles the crunch situations very well. The bowlers have done considerably well and the batsmen have also peaked at the right time.
Kolkata Knight Riders - W, W, W, W, L
Four wins in the last five games is a very impressive record and depicts the terrific form of the team. Top-order in the batting unit have taken responsibility to score runs while the pace duo of Shivam Mavi and Lockie Ferguson have picked wickets consistently. Also, the spin trio of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Shakib Al Hasan are giving their contribution. The only problem for the team is the form of Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan who are not scoring runs and as a result the batting unit is missing a finisher. The team is also missing the services of Andre Russell and if he gets fit in time KKR should add him in the lineup.
Head to head
Both these teams have played 27 matches. CSK won 17 matches while KKR were the winners on 9 occasions. One match was abandoned between these two teams. CSK has a average score of 158 against KKR while Kolkata have a average total of 154 versus CSK. Also, CSK have won their last three encounters against KKR.
Suresh Raina has scored 747 runs against KKR while Andre Russell has amassed 344 runs against CSK. Sunil Narine has 19 wickets against CSK while Ravindra Jadeja has 16 dismissals versus KKR.
BONS Chennai Super Kings Predicted XI
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (C&Wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood
BONS Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted XI
Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy
BONS Match Prediction
With MS Dhoni's and CSK's ability to handle the pressure calmly in crunch situations and middle-order batsmen returning to form, CSK are the favourites to win the trophy.
Pitch Report
Chasing have been the most successful choice at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the last few games. There might be assistance for the pacers in the initial overs and both the teams have pacers who can use the conditions suitable to them. Both the teams will give their best to win the trophy and so the team batting first should aim to score a target around 180 to win.
Match info
Match - Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2021 Final
Date - 15 October 2021
Time - 7:30 PM IST
Venue - Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Where to watch - Star Sports and Hotsar will broadcast the IPL 2021 final