Video of 1st Six of IPL Final : Ruturaj Gaikwad Six : CSK vs KKR

CSK vs KKR, IPL Final 2021, 15 October, 07:30 PM IST

Toss : Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and chose to bowl first

Brendon McCullum on what he has been saying to the team in the UAE leg: The message has been pretty consistent right throughout – myself, other coaches, captain and senior players – and that’s that we are going to go out there and play a slightly more aggressive brand of cricket with bat in hand, try and take wickets with the ball and try and chase the ball hard in the field.

It’s a pretty simple game plan. If anything, with where we sat midway through the tournament, allowed us to little bit more freedom. Funnily enough when you enjoy the game, put a smile on your face and you enjoy the occasion and the tournament, you get better results.

McCullum on how the message is being delivered and received: Maybe to a degree you consciously try and strip out the noise that can surround the tournament and surround the team as well. Just try and get the guys back into the simple fact of playing for one another and try and enjoy themselves out there and try and exhibit their skills.

We have spent a lot of team time together in the second leg of the tournament and I think the guys have responded to that. We have got to know each other a lot better. We spent a lot of time together away from the cricket field, which I think is very important. Couple of key personnel changes have helped too.

The development of our players in the last few months in our starting line-up is quite superb. It’s been a bit of a perfect storm for us, which is why we are standing here.

McCullum on how he handles the team before a big final: Just try and spend a lot of time with the guys in a social setting and pick them off one by one. Make sure they continue to respect the processes but also ensure they are relaxed.

That’s when each one of these guys play their best games, when they block out the noise. Probably being in the bubble is beneficial in that way because it has allowed us to have that real contact time. From a coaches point of view, it was nice to be able to have everyone spending a lot of time together.

McCullum on the buzz word for Final: Mmmm… “enjoyment” maybe. When we came into this tournament in the second half, we knew we could be dangerous. We really did. but we were going to let go ourselves a little bit and enjoy ourselves. Trust your teammates, trust yourself and just go and have a good time.

Honestly that’s all I want these guys to do tonight. I am so proud of what they have achieved how invested they have come in everything that’s us as a leadership of coaching staff have asked of them. I truly believe if they can do that tonight, they can stand there victorious at the end.