IPL: Chennai's Super King

Dubai, October 15

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Mahendra Singh Dhoni played his part to perfection in an extraordinary script as he led Chennai Super Kings to their fourth Indian Premier League title, beating Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in a one-sided final today.

As the final delivery was bowled, the old ‘Band Master’ had that lingering smile at the corner of his lips. Dhoni led a team of old warhorses with oodles of experience as they first posted 192/3 and then restricted Knights to 165/9 despite a promising opening stand of 91 between Shubman Gill (51 off 43 balls) and Venkatesh Iyer (50 off 32 balls).

From 91 for no loss KKR slumped to 125/8. Josh Hazlewood (2/29 in 4 overs), Ravindra Jadeja (2/37 in 4 overs), Shardul Thakur (3/38 in 4 overs) got the wickets at regular intervals but it was the wily old Dwayne Bravo (1/29 in 4 overs) whose first two overs for eight runs with five dots became a game-changer.

It was a day of the veterans as 37-year-old Faf du Plessis smashed 86 off 59 while Robin Uthappa, 35, smashed 31 off 15 balls with three sixes.

Then it was left to the recently-retired Test cricketer, the 34-year-old Moeen Ali (37 off 20 balls), who found gaps with ease to give the perfect finishing touch.

When it came to bowling and fielding, the main job was done by 38-year-old Bravo and 32 year-old Jadeja. — PTI

Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings: 192/3 (Faf du Plessis 86, Moeen Ali 37*, Ruturaj Gaikwad 32, Robin Uthappa 31; Sunil Narine 2/26); Kolkata Knight Riders: 165/9 (Shubman Gill 51, Venkatesh Iyer 50; Shardul Thakur 3/38, Josh Hazlewood 2/29, Ravindra Jadeja 2/37).

635 runs scored by Chennai Super Kings’ Ruturaj Gaikwad. He finished with the Orange Cap for the most runs scored in the edition. CSK’s Faf du Plessis finished second with 633 runs