Twitter Reactions: CSK dictate terms in the grand finale to add fourth IPL title in their trophy cabinet

Du Plessis was the hero with the bat for CSK.

By Aditya Gajanan Kukalyekar verified

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7 Min Read

Chennai Super Kings
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Chennai Super Kings. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)

Chennai Super Kings (CSK)! Take a bow! They were the first team to be knocked out of IPL 2020. And here they are! THE CHAMPIONS! MS Dhoni promised to make a comeback last year and they have done it winning their fourth title. It was a one-sided final in the end as KKR’s middle-order once again collapsed in the chase but credit should be given to CSK for their team effort and the veteran Faf du Plessis who played his best knock of IPL 2021 with the bat.

Earlier, the duo of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis got the team off to a brilliant start for the umpteenth time in the season. The roles were reversed though with Gaikwad taking charge of run-scoring. The hitting was crisp from the youngster as he also got hold of the orange cap going past KL Rahul in the list of top run-getters. Sunil Narine broke the 61-run stand as Gaikwad was caught in the deep trying to take on the spinner on 31.

By this time, Faf du Plessis was set and looking extremely dangerous. His stumping was missed early in the innings by Dinesh Karthik and the veteran batter made sure that he made KKR pay. The run-scoring went down a bit but Faf and Robin Uthappa took the bowlers on in the middle overs to leave the opposition deflated.

Uthappa played a nice little cameo and most importantly, he attacked Narine and Chakaravarthy, the two bowlers who strangled oppositions in their last couple of games. Uthappa got out in the 14th over but not before smashing 31 runs off just 15 balls with three maximums. Meanwhile, Du Plessis was playing a Watson-like knock of 2018. The opening batsman just owned the moment smashing some brilliant strokes leaving the bowlers stunned.

He found a perfect partner in Moeen Ali after Uthappa’s dismissal who feasted on some poor bowling from KKR. Eoin Morgan and his men went with the same template like Sharjah and this is where they made a mistake in their lines and lengths. And CSK had enough experienced players in the middle to make them pay.

In the night of the final, the three-time champions posted a strong total of 192 runs for the loss of three wickets after losing the toss. Du Plessis only got out off the last ball of the innings, two runs shy of equalling his opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad in terms of winning the Orange Cap. He scored 86 runs though which were of more importance with seven fours and three sixes while Moeen Ali remained unbeaten on 37 off just 20 balls with two fours and three sixes.

KKR lose way after a good start

The chase of 193 runs was never going to be easy for KKR and they needed their openers to stand up. And they did. Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill made sure their team was in the game in the first half of the innings. MS Dhoni dropped Iyer in the second over and the left-hander was not going to leave the pitch without putting up a show.

Iyer played some cracking shots from the middle of his bat and in no time, got to his fifty off 31 balls. At the other end, Gill played a perfect foil to him but his struggles were evident once the powerplay ended. Moreover, he also got a lifeline with the ball hitting the spider-cam string after mishitting a shot. CSK finally were able to strike in the 11th over of the innings thanks to Shardul Thakur.

Ravindra Jadeja took a brilliant catch in the deep to send back Iyer and this is where the collapse was triggered. Nitish Rana came out to bat at three with Rahul Tripathi getting injured while fielding and bagged a golden duck. KKR’s middle-order once again collapsed for the third time in as many matches and the target was much bigger than 138 this time.

CSK pounced on them not giving any chance to make a comeback. The likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan didn’t step up as their poor form with the bat continued even in the final. Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Josh Hazlewood and Deepak Chahar were all among wickets as KKR lost 34/8 in in 35 balls.

At 125/8, the match was done and dusted. Lockie Ferguson and Shivam Mavi tried their best adding 39 runs for the ninth wicket but their batters had left them too much to score. KKR could reach only 165 runs for the loss of nine wickets as CSK won their fourth IPL title.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

 

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