Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab, the two best teams in the competition will clash in the final at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday. This confirms the Indian Premier League to have indeed come full circle and will end in the same city which hosted the auction on February 12.
It will be a new day and more importantly the biggest stage in franchise cricket as the two teams KKR and KXIP will have the final match, reports India Today.
KKR, the 2012 champions, were criticised for picking a squad that some thought lacked panache.
While KXIP were considered one of the favourites after they picked the most well balanced team at the auction, also taking the IPL by storm thanks to Glenn Maxwell.
However, there is no IPL without a little drama, with players turning the impossible into possible. As Robin Uthappa joined skipper Gautam Gambhir at the top of the order, KKR won eight consecutive matches to reach the final.
KXIP looked to have forgotten what made them fire in the early stages. Despite topping the group stages, they lost to KKR in Qualifier 1 and needed to beat Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier to secure a place in the final.
On Sunday, it will be a contest between KXIP’s batsmen led by the rejuvenated Virender Sehwag and KKR’s bowlers led by the reliable Sunil Narine.
However, the problem KKR might face is that unlike the wicket at the Eden Gardens, the Bangalore one is a batting paradise and KXIP batsmen might not find it so difficult to negate Narine’s spin.
KXIP will come up against Orange Cap holder Uthappa on his home ground. The way he was dispatching bowlers during training on Saturday, Punjab have their task cut out.
“We know they are a very good side and we will need to be at the top of our game and perform in all three departments if we have to beat them,” Gambhir said.
KXIP skipper Bailey echoed Gambhir’s sentiments saying it is about turning up and performing as a team. We are not trying to put undue pressure on ourselves and will look to treat this as just another game.
“The pressure on us is equivalent to the pressure that we put on ourselves. So we need to go out and enjoy ourselves on the big day,” he said.
However, weather could play spoilsport as there is some chance of rain on the match day. Cricket fans will keep their fingers crossed.
Source: UNBConnect