The final of the 2021 Indian Premier League is as thrilling as it gets. After losing the toss to Kolkata Knight Riders in the final, MS Dhoni and his men were sent to bat first but it never felt as if that was a burden for them. CSK have one of the strongest batting lineups this season and they proved it once again. They are pretty comfortable batting first and theur opening duo of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf Du Plessis did wonders once again in the final. Although Gaikwad had to depart early, Faf Du Plessis kept the momentum going and helped CSK secure a safe score of 192. It should be mentioned that Moeen Ali played a brilliant cameo as well.
Kolkata Knight Riders, who do not have such a star studded batting lineup, depend a lot on their two opening batsmen – Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill. So it’s a known fact that they are bound to struggle when both of them depart. With Rahul Tripathi injured as well, the pressure on the opening duo increased further.
Venkatesh Iyer has specifically been KKR’s danger man in the UAE leg of this season. He had already completed his fifty when MS Dhoni sent in Shardul Thakur to take care of him and boy did he do that. In the same over, he first dismissed Venkatesh Iyer and then sent off KKR’s in at 3 Nitish Rana. The absolute game changer for CSK and a lot of credit for CSK’s 4th title win goes to him.
Video: Game-changer Shardul Thakur picks up 2 wickets in an over
