KKR skipper Eoin Morgan will be eager to restrict MS-Dhoni led CSK to a modest total, having opted to field after winning the toss in the IPL 2021 final.
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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Eoin Morgan has opted to field after winning the toss in the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Morgan is going with an unchanged lineup from the team that defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) in Qualifier 2. This means the Kolkata-based franchise are missing out on the services of Windies all-rounder Andre Russell. The same is definitely a massive area of concern, considering the damage Russell is capable of. CSK are also unchanged. They are missing out on the presence of Suresh Raina, who has often been an absolute match-winner in crucial encounters.
“We are gonna have a bowl, the wicket looks good and there’s some dew around. Are gonna give it everything tonight. We are going with the same team,” said Morgan as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Dhoni admitted that he would have opted to field as well, considering the conditions. However, the CSK skipper stated that his players were prepared for any scenario, making losing the toss not that big of an issue.
“We are looking to bowl first as well, initially it stops a bit and as the game goes on it settles down and toss is uncontrollable and we are prepared for both. Started T20 in around 2005-06 and most of the games have been franchise cricket and in the last five years there have been a lot of T20 games in international cricket as well. We are playing with the same squad. Often what really dictates terms is the result and I feel our international players are equipped to deal with whatever the situation maybe,” said Dhoni.
While the encounter is certainly a crucial one, KKR head coach Brendon McCullum has encouraged his players to go out and enjoy the game.
“Mmmm… “enjoyment” maybe. When we came into this tournament in the second half, we knew we could b dangerous. We really did. but we were going to let go ourselves a little bit and enjoy ourselves. Trust your teammates, trust yourself and just go and have a good time. Honestly that’s all I want these guys to do tonight. I am so proud of what they have achieved how invested they have come in everything that’s us as a leadership of coaching staff have asked of them. I truly believe if they can do that tonight, they can stand there victorious at the end,” said McCullum when asked to share the buzz-word for the final.”
“Just try and spend a lot of time with the guys in a social setting and pick them off one by one. Make sure they continue to respect the processes but also ensure they are relaxed. That’s when each one of these guys play their best games, when they block out the noise. Probably being in the bubble is beneficial in that way because it has allowed us to have that real contact time. From a coaches point of view, it was nice to be able to have everyone spending a lot of time together,” he added.
Lineups:
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Ruturaj Gaikwad, Faf du Plessis, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik(w), Eoin Morgan(c), Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakaravarthy.
