Former Cricketer and 2-time IPL winning captain Gautam Gambhir has said the contest of the IPL 2021 final between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will lie in the former’s batting lineup versus the latter’s bowlers.
The former opener has lauded CSK’s top order for their contributions in IPL 2021 so far. He added that KKR’s express pacer Lockie Ferguson will also be a “very important factor” in the match because the Dubai wicket is more likely to support pacers than spinners. In an interaction with ESPNcricinfo, Gautam Gambhir said:
“Not only Ruturaj Gaikwad but Faf du Plessis is also in brilliant form. Even Robin Uthappa played a brilliant inning in the last match. The contest will no doubt be between CSK’s batting and KKR’s bowling. Lockie Ferguson is a very important factor here because you are playing Dubai. If you were playing Sharjah then that might not have been the case but Lockie Ferguson will have to bowl really well in Dubai.”
Ruturaj Gaikwad's record against KKR:
72 (53).
64 (42).
40 (28).– 176 runs in 3 innings at an average of 58.66 and a Strike Rate of 143.08, he'll be the man for CSK in the Final.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 15, 2021
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis’ opening partnership has yielded 1150 runs together, the most for any franchise this season. Robin Uthappa’s 44-ball 63 against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the first Qualifier provided stability and made CSK’s top order look like a more complete unit.
