IPL 2021, Final: CSK vs KKR, Stats Review: Ruturaj Gaikwad bags Orange Cap as CSK lift fourth IPL title

While the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was all about twists and turns, the summit clash didn’t witness much drama. Chennai Super Kings pretty comfortably defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in the final and lifted their fourth IPL title. The going was pretty smooth for CSK in the final as KKR were outplayed in all three departments. Subsequently, the Eoin Morgan-led side fell short of glory.

Speaking of how the game unfolded, KKR won the toss and unsurprisingly elected to bowl first at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.  CSK openers embraced the challenge brilliantly and continued their run-scoring spree. While Ruturaj Gaikwad got out for 32, Faf du Plessis went on to score 86 runs.

Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali also played fiery cameos as Chennai finished at 192/3 in their allotted 20 overs. Chasing the mammoth total, KKR got off to a brilliant start with Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer adding 91 runs for the first wicket. However, a middle-order collapse entirely changed the course of the game. As a result, KKR could only manage 165/9, losing the contest by 27 runs.

Meanwhile, here are the important stats and numbers from the CSK vs KKR final clash in IPL 2021:

4 – CSK lifted their fourth IPL title. Only Mumbai Indians have clinched the trophy more times (5).

300 – MS Dhoni became the first player to lead in 300 T20 matches.

5 – Ruturaj Gaikwad became the fifth Indian player to win the orange cap. Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, KL Rahul, and Robin Uthappa are the other four.

3– Gaikwad became the third CSK player after Michael Hussey and Matthew Hayden to win the orange cap.

600 – This is the first instance of Faf du Plessis scoring over 600 runs in an IPL season.

100 – Faf du Plessis became the first South African player to complete 100 matches in the Indian Premier League.

6 – Ravindra Jadeja became the sixth player to complete 100 IPL matches.

2 – Dinesh Karthik is now the joint second-most capped player in IPL (213). While he shares the record with Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni (220) tops the list.

3 – Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis added 756 runs in partnership in IPL, third-most by a player in an IPL season.

500 – Shardul Thakur became the only player to concede over 500 runs in IPL 2021.

1 – This is the first instance of two players from the same team being the top two run-scorers in a single IPL season, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis.

3 – This is also the third instance of two players from a single team scoring over 600 runs in an IPL season.

6 – Du Plessis smashed six scores of 50+ in IPL 2021, joint-most by a CSK batter in a season. Michael Hussey smashed as many half-centuries in the 2013 edition.

2 – Dwayne Bravo (167) now is the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL history. While he overtook Amit Mishra to get the feat, Lasith Malinga (170) holds the pole position.