Watch the final live on Sky Sports Cricket starting at 2.50pm and the Sky Sports Main Event starting at 3pm on Friday or follow our blog live on Sky Sports digital platforms as Chennai tries to convert four times champions and Kolkata aims to achieve three wins in as many final appearances
Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni fists high with Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan
Legendary captains Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Eoin Morgan will meet in the IPL final on Friday, live on Sky Sports, possibly for the last time.
The 40-year-old Dhoni has hinted that the main occasion could be the last game of his playing career and guiding the Chennai Super Kings captain to a fourth IPL title could be the perfect way to retire.
His team faces Morgan’s Kolkata Knight Riders, who have qualified for their first IPL final in seven years, but have a perfect final record after winning their two previous title chances, in 2012 (against Chennai) and 2014.
You can watch each ball live on Sky Sports Cricket from 2.50pm on Friday, with the action also on the air at the Sky Sports Main Event starting at 3pm, or follow detailed commentary on our blog live at our digital platforms.
Chennai is in a dominant race against Kolkata, having won both meetings this year to extend their winning sequence to five wins in the last six meetings.
Back in April, CSK posted an 18-run win after scoring 220-3 in their 20 overs after a 115 starting position between Faf du Plessis (95th vs. 60 balls) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (64 vs. 42). Moeen Ali and Dhoni chimed in with cameos before Deepak Chahar (4-29) helped bring Kolkata down to 31-5 before explosive punches from Dinesh Karthik (40), Andre Russell (54) and Pat Cummins (66th to 34). ) almost made them disappear. tide.
The follow-up clash in September was spectacular for different reasons, as Ravindra Jadeja saw Chennai with a two-wicket victory on the last ball of the match. Set 172 to win, CSK needed 24 runs of the last 10 balls and Jadeja delivered at the last moment by breaking 22 of eight balls before falling to the penultimate ball of the game, leaving Chahar scuttling for the winning single. Once again, CSK starters played a pivotal role with Du Plessis (43 of 30) and Gaikwad (40 of 28) establishing the platform, and Moeen Ali (32) solidifying the chase.
They are men for the big occasion. Both Dhoni and Morgan have suffered from a racing shortage in the tournament – their leadership has had more of an impact than their respective bats. Therefore, the statistics are gloomy reading and are not to be stressed. Dhoni is averaging 16.28 of 11 hits with a best of 18 (but what a crucial hit it was in Qualifier 1 when he got Tom Curran in to give CSK a last-round win over Delhi). Morgan’s average is even lower, 11.72, with 47 of his 129 tournament runs returning in April, when Kolkata posted a five-wicket victory over the Punjab Kings.
So who has lit up the scorecards? Kolkata’s batting lineup is packed with virtuosos with Shubman Gill (427 runs), Rahul Tripathi (395), Nitish Rana (383) and Venkatesh Iyer (320 in nine hits to 40), so impressive in Qualifier 2, all Betting claims for MVP Batter. And on Varun Chakravarthy (18 wickets) and Sunil Narine (14) they have a spin combo capable of drying out most threats.
Chennai’s Shardul Thakur is right up there with Chakravarthy in fifth place in Purple Cap’s standings (a long distance behind Harshal Patel’s 32 mark), but CSK could have the Orange Cap winner in their ranks at final of the tournament with du Plessis (547 runs) and Gaikwad (603) both in the top four of the standings.
Kolkata Knight Riders Lead Mentor David hussey: “In terms of the grand final and our record that we have in it, it’s a great record to go to a grand final and it gives you a bit of confidence. But playing against the Chennai Super Kings, who have barely failed finals in history from the IPL. So yes, it will be a great contest. They are very well trained, the Chennai Super Kings. And yes, I know all the boys are looking forward to getting to Dubai and playing Friday night. “
MS Dhoni, upon www.chennaisuperkings.com: “It was the first time we didn’t qualify last year and the emotions were high. But whatever game we had towards the end of last year, we made the most of it. A lot of hitters made the most of that. So we’ve come back strong. But the credit goes to the support staff and everyone on the team. Without that character, we couldn’t have come back like this. “
Watch the final live on Sky Sports Cricket starting at 2.50pm and the Sky Sports Main Event starting at 3pm on Friday or follow our blog live on Sky Sports digital platforms.
