On this day in 2021, the Dubai International Cricket Stadium hosted the IPL Final between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders. It was a rematch of the 2012 final. CSK successfully took revenge of the defeat they suffered nine seasons ago by defeating KKR in Dubai.
Many fans would remember that it was a high-scoring contest, where openers of both teams scored big. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 27-ball 32 and Faf du Plessis’ half-century helped CSK reach 192/3 in 20 overs. In response, the Kolkata Knight Riders managed 165/9 in 20 overs, despite being 91/0 at one point in their innings. Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer smacked a half-century each for KKR, but their efforts ended in a losing cause.
Three years have passed since that epic night in Dubai. While fans would remember MS Dhoni collecting the trophy and saying ‘he hasn’t left his legacy behind’ yet here’s a list of the two things that fans might have forgotten about the IPL 2021 Final.
1. Robin Uthappa had the highest strike rate in the IPL 2021 Final
Before the IPL 2021 season, Chennai Super Kings raised many eyebrows when they traded in Robin Uthappa from the Rajasthan Royals. Uthappa was against his former franchise KKR in the final, and he destroyed the KKR bowlers by playing a handy cameo of 31 runs from just 15 deliveries.
Uthappa was the only batter with a strike rate of more than 200 in the final. He smashed three sixes in his entertaining knock to give momentum to the CSK innings.
2. It is the only IPL Final to take place in October
IPL matches generally happen in the Indian summer, which is from March to June. IPL 2021 started in the Indian summer as well, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season had to be halted, and then the tournament resumed on September 19, with the final happening on October 15.
Even in 2020, the tournament took place from September to November. That year, the final was in November, but in 2021, for the first time, an IPL Final happened in October.
