CSK vs KKR Final 2012: A Lookback at What Happened When The Two Teams Last Met In An IPL Final

Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders will square up against each other in the final of IPL 2021 on Friday at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Chennai Super Kings finished the league stage at the second position on the points table, winning 9 out of 14 matches. They are coming into the final on the back of a 4-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 1.

On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders would be brimming with confidence. They finished at fourth position after the end of the league stage. In the Eliminator clash between KKR and RCB, the former registered a four-wicket win. This was followed by a three-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 2 on Wednesday. Kolkata Knight Riders would be aiming to beat CSK in the final and earn their third IPL title.

Interestingly, both the teams met each other in the IPL 2012 final. It was the only instance when both these two sides played against each other in an IPL final. Here’s a look back at what happened in that game.

CSK vs KKR Final 2012: A Lookback at What Happened When The Two Teams Last Met In An IPL Final

At MA Chidambaram Stadium in the final of the IPL 2012 edition, MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat first. Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay gave the side a rollicking start, having added an 80-run total in the first 10 overs.

The first wicket fell in the eleventh over in the form of Murali Vijay (42 off 32). However, it didn’t have any effect on CSK’s scoring rate as Suresh Raina and Hussey continued the fireworks. Hussey went on to score 54 runs off 43 balls, including 4 fours and 2 sixes.

Suresh Raina top-scored for CSK as he blazed his way to a 73 off 38 balls. MS Dhoni too chipped in with an unbeaten 14 off 9 deliveries. Thanks to all those contributions, Chennai Super Kings scored 190 runs in the first innings. For KKR, Rajat Bhatia was the best bowler of the day. He gave away 23 runs for 1 wicket in his three overs. The rest of the bowlers were hammered for more than 8 runs an over.

In pursuit of the run-chase, Kolkata Knight Riders suffered a big blow as Gautam Gambhir went back to the hut in the very first over of the second innings. Manvinder Bisla and Jacques Kallis, however, led the recovery as they stitched a 137-run partnership for the second wicket.

Bisla got out in the 15^th over after scoring valuable 89 runs off 48 balls but Kallis stayed firm at the other end. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals after that but Kallis ensured KKR had the upper hand by scoring boundaries regularly.

Kallis got out in the 19^th over after scoring 69 runs off 49 balls. Needing 9 runs off the final over, Manoj Tiwari scored two consecutive fours on the third and fourth delivery to win the game for KKR and help them clinch their first-ever title in IPL.