IPL 2021 Final, CSK vs KKR: Here's Kolkata Knight Riders' road to final

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are all set to face Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 final on October 15 at the Dubai International Stadium. KKR find themselves in the IPL final for the third time since the inaugural season of IPL in 2008, having won the title twice in 2012 and 2014. In the 2021 season, KKR have emerged as the underdogs, since they qualified for the IPL 2021 playoffs as the fourth-placed team. However, they defeated the table topper of the season, Delhi Capitals (DC) in Qualifier 2 of the playoffs on October 13, and secured the berth for the IPL 2021 final.

KKR started their IPL 2021 campaign with a well-deserved win by 10 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in match no. 3 of the tournament, during the first leg in India. However, they lost four matches in a row against Mumbai Indians(MI), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), CSK, and Rajasthan Royals (RR) before winning against Punjab Kings (PBKS) by five wickets in match no. 21. They suffered another loss by seven wickets in their next match against DC and ended the first leg of the tournament with only four points to their name.

Revival of Kolkata Knight Riders in the second leg of IPL 2021

As the tournament resumed in UAE in September, KKR played their first match of the second leg against RCB and found the much-needed revival as they restricted RCB for mere 92 runs in match no. 31 of IPL 2021. Following their clinical display of bowling, KKR openers gave their best, as the team cruised to victory with 10 overs remaining in the match at the loss of just one wicket. KKR found a new hero in their team, as debutant Venkatesh Iyer went on to score 41 not-out runs at a strike rate of 151.85. Having opened the second leg with a dominant performance, KKR won their next match against the champions of 2020, MI before losing to CSK on September 26. Despite the hiccup, KKR won against DC and lost their next match against PBKS.

Kolkata Knight Riders defeat SRH and RR in the last two league games of IPL 2021

However, the team ended the league stage with back-to-back wins against SRH and RR to qualify for the IPL 2021 playoffs as the fourth-placed team in the points table. Captivating the momentum gained in their last two league games, KKR defeated RCB by four wickets in the Eliminator of the playoffs and went on to emerge victorious over a strong DC side in Qualifier 2. Heading to the 2021 season finale, all eyes would be on KKR’s unbeaten record in the finals. Shubman Gill is the highest run-scorer for the team currently, with 427 runs to his name in 16 matches. On the bowling front, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy currently leads the charts with a total of 18 wickets in 16 matches.

Image: Instagram- @kkriders/BCCI