Reliving the magical moments of the Indian Premier League Final, over the years

4. Chennai Super Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore – IPL 2011

Chennai Super Kings became the first team to win the IPL two consecutive times and is the only team till date to achieve this feat till date. This season also witnessed the ‘Qualifiers’ played instead of the conventional ‘semi-finals’. CSK who ended second on the points table also became the first team to enter the finals in this very popular ‘Qualifiers’ method. They defeated the table toppers RCB in the first qualifier and then RCB had to defeat MI in the second qualifier to enter the finals.

CSK yet again won the toss and opted to bat first in the finals. MS had a very popular belief back then that big runs on the board batting first in finals will put the opposition under pressure. CSK had a dream start to their innings as their openers went on to add 159 for the first wicket in just 15 overs. Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay scored 63 (45) and 95 (52) respectively. MS promoted himself up the order and scored a quick 22 from 13 balls.

RCB was to chase 205 in their 20 overs and the only way that could be achieved is through Chris Gayle. Gayle had a dream tournament and was also the top-scorer in IPL 2011. MS opted to bring in Ashwin to open the bowling and his master-stroke worked as Gayle was dismissed just of his 3rd ball. RCB was never at ease once Gayle was out and they fell short of the target by a massive 58 runs handing over CSK a very easy win.

Top Performers of the season

Murali Vijay was adjudged the ‘Man of the Match’ in the finals for his fiery 95 which came from just 52 balls. Chris Gayle was the obvious choice for the ‘Player of the Series’ as he tore the opposition bowling apart for a majority of the season.

Brief Scores:
CSK: 205/5 in 20 overs ( Murali Vijay 95, Michael Hussey 63, Chris Gayle 2/34)
RCB: 147/8 in 20 overs ( Saurabh Tiwary 42*, Virat Kohli 35, R Ashwin 3/16)