Chennai Super Kings is one of the most successful franchises in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), having won the competition five times. All these titles have been secured under the leadership of the legendary MS Dhoni. In 2021, CSK became the IPL champions for the fourth time by overcoming Kolkata Knight Riders in the final.
The summit showdown took place at the Dubai International Stadium 13 years back on this day (October 15). CSK won nine of their 14 league matches and finished second in the standings.
Fantastic FOUR! The @msdhoni-led @ChennaiIPL beat #KKR by 27 runs in the #VIVOIPL #Final & clinch their 4⃣th IPL title. #CSKvKKR
A round of applause for @KKRiders, who are the runners-up of the season.
Scorecard https://t.co/JOEYUSwYSt pic.twitter.com/PQGanwi3H3
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 15, 2021
MS Dhoni and Co got rid of Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 1 to reach the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders featured in the Eliminator where they beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by four wickets. KKR then faced Delhi in the second qualifier and won by three wickets to book their ticket to the final.
After the setback last season, not many gave @ChennaiIPL a chance this year. But it is that ability of @msdhoni to convert adversity into opportunity that Chennai played outstanding cricket and are deserving champions. Whistle Podu #IPLFinal pic.twitter.com/YV5KuntmFU— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) October 15, 2021
Kolkata captain Eoin Morgan won the toss in the final and asked CSK to bat first in Dubai. The Yellow Army made a roaring start to their innings, thanks to a strong partnership by Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis.
The Indian opener was dismissed after producing 32 off 27 balls. Du Plessis carried forward his onslaught and went on to strike a half-century.
Many congratulations to @ChennaiIPL on winning their fourth IPL title. Brilliantly team effort and wonderfully led by @msdhoni . #IPLFinal pic.twitter.com/BT4VSa6Wn7— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) October 15, 2021
Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali chipped in with some valuable contributions in the middle order. While Uthappa returned to the dressing room after scoring 31 off 15 balls, Moeen remained unbeaten at 37.
Faf du Plessis wrapped up as the top-performing batter for CSK. The South African star contributed with a solid knock of 86 off 59 balls. His innings was laced with seven boundaries and three sixes.
CSK ultimately posted 192 on the board, losing three wickets in 20 overs. Sunil Narine was KKR’s highest wicket-taker in the final with two scalps.
KKR had a positive start to the run chase. Each of their opening batters – Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer—scored half-centuries and stitched a partnership of 91 runs. Iyer was the first to be dismissed. He returned to the hut after adding 50 runs to the scoresheet.
At that moment, KKR were in a comfortable situation as they had already reached 91 runs.
The CSK bowling unit, however, had different plans. KKR lost their next seven wickets in just 34 runs. The Eoin Morgan-led side, eventually, could manage to reach 165 and lost the IPL final by 27 runs. Shardul Thakur bagged three wickets for CSK. Faf du Plessis was named Player of the Match in the final for his spectacular batting performance.
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