Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Final - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

It was great to hear Dhoni first talk about KKR and credit them for their success and showing in the UAE leg before hailing his own team. It clearly emphasizes of the fact that cricket comes first before anything else. Often things go overboard with emotions running high towards the players or teams, but this is just a game. Players are humans just like all of us. So that mutual respect has always got to be there. On that note, we bring the curtains down on IPL 2021. Hope you enjoyed our coverage. The great thing for us cricket fans is that the T20 World Cup is just upon us. The qualifiers start from Sunday alongside the warm-ups for the Super 12 teams. Pitches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi have been pretty good but Sharjah demands high skill and dew seems to be bringing a new challenge too. Exciting times ahead. We will see you all again from Sunday. Take good care of yourself!

When CSK announced Robin Uthappa has been traded from Rajasthan Royals, many went "Why have they signed another player who isn't young to a side that is already termed Dad's army?" People questioned the logic, people questioned why only Robbie and what not. Well, here is Dhoni and CSK's thought process shining bright. Uthappa came into the playoffs and played two very crucial innings - a counterattacking 63 in Qualifier 1, a momentum-changing 15-ball 31 in the final. It's experience combined with skill is what Dhoni and CSK were looking for and Uthappa repaid the faith at the best possible time. This guy, Dhoni, afterall has a great cricketing brain for a reason!

Harshal Patel is the second uncapped player ever to win an Orange/Purple Cap in IPL after Shaun Marsh who won Orange Cap in 2008. He is the third Indian after Sachin Tendulkar (2010) and Virat Kohli (2016) to win the Player of the Series award in IPL.

Overseas players winning Player of the Match in IPL final:
Kieron Pollard in 2013
Ben Cutting in 2016
Shane Watson in 2018
Trent Boult in 2020
Faf du Plessis in 2021

Ruturaj Gaikwad is the second player to win the Orange Cap as well part of the winning team in the final in IPL after Robin Uthappa for KKR in 2014.

Fifth win in an IPL final for Ambati Rayudu (3 with MI, 2 with CSK)
- joint second most with Kieron Pollard.
- Only Rohit Sharma (six) has been part of more playing XIs in final wins.

MS Dhoni collects the trophy from Sourav Ganguly and quickly hands it over to Deepak Chahar, who puts the trophy in front of the champions board as the entire team waits for Dhoni to join their pose for the cameras. The yellow confetti fits the scene very well. Now the kids want to join their dads. The players are joined by their families too. Now more individual photo time with the trophy for a lot of players. It's all smiles in the yellow camp.

Harsha Bhogle asked Dhoni about his plans for next year. Dhoni smartly took the conversation to "It depends on BCCI with two new teams coming in." Harsha stopped him and said, no MS, it's between you and CSK. Dhoni then says "Well it's not about me playing for CSK, it's about what is best for CSK. The core group that can carry the team for 10 years. Now we need to see what is best. Harsha then asks and tells him about the legacy he has left behind at CSK. Dhoni cheekily waits for the sentence to be completed and responds "Well, I still haven't left behind (smiles)."

MS Dhoni: Before I start talking about CSK, it's important I talk about KKR. For the position they were in after the first phase, it is very difficult to come back and do what they have done. If any team deserved to win the IPL this year, I feel it was KKR. I think the break helped them. Coming to CSK we shuffled a few players, we used them in different ways. Important was to take the responsibility. I felt we had match-winners game after game. People who were in form they ensured they were scoring throughout the tournament and others were chipping in. Every final is special. Yes we are most consistent team looking at the stats but we have also lost finals. Not letting the opposition in is something we consciously wanted to improve. I hope CSK in the coming years will be known for that. We don't really talk a lot. It's more one on one. Our practice sessions are more like a meeting session also. People are more open that way. The moment you talk in a team room there is a bit of pressure. You can't deliver without a good team. We also have great individuals as well. I would love to thank the fans. We are in Dubai now. Even when we played in South Africa, we always got good amount of support. Thanks to all of them. If feels like Chepauk, Chennai. Hopefully we will come back to play of the Chennai fans next year.

Winners cheque of INR 20 crore to Chennai Super Kings.

Stephen Fleming: We have had a number of finals, but crossing the line is what you want to conquer. There has been a bit of criticism about the age of players in our side, but the players have stepped up. We value youth, but experience is very important. We don't go too deep into the numbers, analytics, but are a team more on instincts. Yes we are a bit old school in that sense but it works for us in this group.

Eoin Morgan: Extremely proud of the fight the boys have put in. Today unfortunately wasn't ours. Venkatesh is new to this platform but has a huge future. Him and Gill have been the cornerstone of our batting. The energy Tripathi showed was absolutely outstanding.

Runners-up cheque for KKR - INR 12.5 crore.

Brendon McCullum: We are super proud of what we have achieved. Obviously tonight wasn't ours. Champion side CSK. Even though we fell just short, we can keep our heads high. The style of play we showed in the second half and the youngsters playing at the top are things that worked for us. KKR have been very supportive as a franchise.

Match officials get their awards - Javagal Srinath, Nitin Menon, Richard Illingworth, S Ravi, V Sharma.

Most valuable player of the season: Harshal Patel.

Orange cap: - Ruturaj Gaikwad - 635 runs in 16 games - 1 hundred, 4 fifties.

Purple cap: Harshal Patel - 32 wickets (joint highest ever in IPL with Dwayne Bravo) in 15 games, one 5-wicket haul, one 4-wicket haul.

Power player of the season: Venkatesh Iyer.

Maximum Sixes: KL Rahul with 30 sixes.