The world will come to a stop tomorrow evening to witness the final match of VIVO IPL 2021. The tournament has overcome several obstacles, which include getting suspended for 4 months, after a severe COVID-19 outbreak in India. The tournament was rescheduled and then restarted in UAE, and it turned out to be an absolute feast for both players and fans alike.
Firstly, there were eight teams, then we got four in the qualifiers and now we’re finally reduced to two teams. These two teams are Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, who are going to battle it out for the ultimate glory of the IPL title, on Friday evening. Both the teams have had contrasting seasons, while Chennai Super Kings got on to a flier in the first half and qualified for the playoffs with some ease, KKR earned their place the hard way. After a forgettable first leg, they made a great comeback in the second leg. Like the horse who wins the race after everyone writes it off, KKR qualified for the Playoffs on the very last day of the League Stage. From there onwards it has been a dream run for them as they defeated the title challenges RCB and then last year’s runner-ups Delhi Capitals to enter the finals. However, the CSK challenge in the final might turn out to be a little too much for the dark horse of the tournament.
South African Pace bowler Dayle Steyn shares the same thought. In a conversation with ESPN Cricinfo, he said, ‘I just feel that at some point KKR’s luck is going to catch up to them. Bad decisions and lack of form of Morgan and DK that kind of stuff is going to catch up to them.’ He further added that CSK on the other hand is a rather composed unit with all parts working in perfect cohesion.
CSK has beaten KKR in 17 out of 27 IPL games in the past but has a very poor record against them in the finals. They have faced off twice in the finals and on both occasions, KKR has emerged victorious.
