Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL Final, October 15, 07:30 PM IST
Team News :
Chennai Super Kings
Injuries/Unavailable: After Robin Uthappa’s phenomenal batting display in the first qualifier, Suresh Raina’s fitness status may not be significant anymore. Uthappa came good on the team’s need to blaze away in the PowerPlay after Faf du Plessis’s first-over exit, and should retain his spot for the final.
Probable 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
Kolkata Knight Riders
Injuries/Unavailable: Shakib Al Hasan, a two-time IPL winner with Knight Riders, will be available for the final. His participation needed some sort of a permission from the BCB, given he will have to leave for Oman, where Bangladesh open their T20 World Cup campaign against Scotland less than 48 hours after the IPL final. The only decision Knight Riders may have to make is picking between Shakib and Andre Russell, if fit.
Probable XI: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shakib Al Hasan/Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy
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 strategised. We would like to keep going, playing against CSK, one of the best franchises in IPL history.” – Eoin Morgan.
Important Facts and Stats
• 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.
• The team chasing has won the last eight games in Dubai.
• Moeen has been the most economical spinner so far this season, going at just 6.4, better than his opponent’s key spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Narine.
• Super Kings have a 100% chasing record this season, winning six out of six. Only Mumbai Indians (2020) have gone through an entire season without a loss in chases (leaving one in Super Over).
• MS Dhoni has an average of 35.57 and a strike rate of 150 in IPL finals.
• In the UAE leg, CSK and KKR have one opener each at the top of the batting charts – Gaikwad has scored 407 in 8 innings at an average of 67.83 and strike rate of 141.81, Venkatesh Iyer has 320 runs in 9 innings at an average of 40 and SR of 125.
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