CHEENAI SUPER KINGS VS KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
Two IPL Rivals met in CLT20 Final.
Will Kolkata continue their winning streak of 15 consecutive wins?
Last time both the teams met in the Indian Premier League, when Kolkata defeated Chennai by 5 wickets. Now its Champions League T20 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
There is a bad news for Kolkata Knight Ridders player, Sunil Narine will not be eligilble to bowl in the CLT20 Final following a report on his suspected illegal bowling action. Narine was reported for second time in as many matches during semi-final game against Hobart Hurricanes at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Hyderabad.
The rise of Kuldeep Yadav as a viable option has given them great depth in their spin bowling resources. As a result, they haven’t missed someone like a Shakib Al Hasan. And, Yadav has Piyush Chawla and Yusuf Pathan to back him, who has also bowled well. With Narine out, Pat Cummins will be considered as Fast Bowling option and Andre Russell, Jacque Kallis and Ryan Tan Doeschate will back him up.
Shah Rukh Khan’s team though boasts up batsman such as Gambhir, Uthappa, Manish Pandey and Jacque Kallis, all of whom who have lots of experience and are in good form as well.
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
Opener Dwayne Smith has been disappointing in the CLT20 with his partner Brendon McCullum has been inconsistent. Where as Suresh Raina in a superb form with his all-round performance matching his feet with Dwayne Bravo, who has proved his performance with both bat and ball in the tournament.
The Spin bowling attack of Chennai is strong as Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Negi will handle it. Fast bowlers like Ashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma, Bravo can trouble most teams.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
The Chennai Super Kings have a 9-6 win-loss record against the Kolkata Knight Riders, though the latter hold a 2-1 edge in meetings this season.
Both teams retained their respective home matches in the IPL season – CSK won in Ranchi while KKR won in Kolkata, following which KKR trounced CSK in the opening game of this tournament.
SQUADS
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (c), Robin Uthappa, Piyush Chawla, Yusuf Pathan, Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Vinay Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Manish Pandey, Ryan ten Doeschate, Suryakumar Yadav, Andre Russell, Manvinder Bisla (wk), Pat Cummins, Kuldeep Yadav.
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (c&wk), Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishwar Pandey, Ashish Nehra, Mithun Manhas, Pawan Negi Mohit Sharma, John Hastings, Samuel Badree.
PS: This article is written by Aakash Arora.