IPL Final CSK vs KKR - Like coconut barfi and sandesh!

Date: Sunday, May 27, 2012
Time: 20.00 hrs (14.30 GMT)
Venue: M.A. Chidambaram stadium

This time, maybe, for KKR?

Here, today, we reach the end of the most memorable season of the Indian Premier League. This year more than any other the league has achieved its aim of being a proper cocktail of cricket and entertainment. There were times when the latter threatened to usurp the former, but some scintillating performances ensured that sanity prevailed.

Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings are as different as coconut barfi and jaggery sandesh. The Kolkatan outfit, which was known to disappoint its fans with an unenviable consistency, have been a symbol of consistency this year. They deserved to be here more than any other team. There’s no doubts that Gautam Gambhir and Sunil Narine have been stand-out performers for them, but the Rajat Bhatias and Shakib Al Hasans have also made commendable contributions when needed. They have approached every match as if with a purpose to defy convention and have achieved so throughout this campaign.

Chennai, on the other hand, survived a shoddy beginning. It would be unfair to say that luck didn’t play a factor — had Deccan chargers not won their last matches the play-off fixtures would have looked much different. But there was a kind of calmness with which they approached their games, clinging on to last over, even last ball, chances. With no player, apart from du Plessis, in form, it is remarkable how Dhoni has managed his resources. Yet when one looks back at Chennai’s record, one will see a bunch that has been the most consistent team of the IPL.

Captains

It goes without saying that captains play a crucial role in the shaping up of teams. The league phase was long and often looked over-stretched. There must have been times when these players at the top must have felt worn out. Moreover, this season the competition among teams was the toughest. Leaving aside, Kolkata, Delhi, Deccan and later Pune who consistently held their positions in the top and bottom, all other teams had their chances of qualifying for the next phase.

While captains like Gilchrist (with injury) and Ganguly (loss of form) had to sit out of matches, Sangakarra was vocal about his displeasure. Dhoni and Gambhir, who have led their respective teams to the final, must have also faced moments when their desire to win threatened to disturb their mental equilibrium. Different people, they have dealt with the situations differently.

Gambhir who, unlike his Chennai counterpart, has often failed to control his anger, has his view open about this match: “When you go out on the field, you don’t go out to make friends. You go out to get results for your teams. And for that if I have to be aggressive on the field (I have been). That’s what I play cricket for; I play to win the game and not just to compete.”

If they were men of equal temper, and equally bad at handling it, we would have expected Dhoni to break some T.V sets and slam some doors in the dressing room for his is the team which has disappointed more. But Dhoni believes, “every player has a unique style” and admits he doesn’t instruct his players on the to-do’s and not-to-do’s. “We, at CSK, put a lot of emphasis on the players going and enjoying the game, and expressing themselves.”

Players to watch out for

Kolkata Knight Riders

Gautam Gambhir – Gambhir will be expected to carry his form into this match. He is the second highest scorer of this IPL and in his 11 innings, he has seldom failed completely with the bat — has been out for less than 25 only twice. At the top of the order, he will be expected to cover again for an inconsistent middle order.

Sunil Narine – The West Indian import was one of the costliest buys this year. He has an unique hairstyle and an unique style of bowling. He is mysterious and if he improvises and learns how to cope after this veil of mystery deserts him, unlike Ajantha Mendis he can be a bowler of class.

Chennai Super Kings

Mike Hussey – Mr. Cricket’s coming into the eleven has brought stability at the top of the batting order. Although it meant leaving du Plessis out of the team, Hussey has shown that with Vijay he can provide Chennai what they were missing at the beginning of their innings.

Murli Vijay – Vijay’s blitzkrieg in the last match ensured that he keeps his place in the eleven intact. Once a promising cricketer marked for the Indian national team, Vijay is now competing against far younger and consistent players. The road ahead is tough and he may never push the likes of Pujara, Rahane and Mukund. Out of favour in the national side, but for Chennai to succeed he remains a very crucial element.

Strength and Weaknesses

Chennai’s batsmen have performed better than Kolkata’s and it is the opposite when it comes to bowling. While Narine, Bhatia and the rest have churned out inspiring bowling performances, Chennai boasts of a long batting order with Hussey, Vijay, Dhoni, Raina, Badrinath, Bravo and Morkel, and they all have at least one performance to talk about.

Possible changes

Kolkata Knight Riders

Manoj Tiwary, who missed the match against Delhi due to injury, is likely to replace either Laxmi Ratan Shukla or Debabrata Das. After suffering a hamstring injury in the last match, Laxmipathy Balaji may miss the match.

Chennai Super Kings

They are likely to go not fool around with the winning combination, thus no place for du Plessis again.

Prediction

Chennai have the knack of surprising their opponents, but this time it looks like Kolkata will lift the trophy. And Kolkata should.