The Chennai Super Kings won their fourth Indian Premier League title after victory in an enthralling final against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
A brilliant batting display led by Faf du Plessis's superb 86 saw MS Dhoni's men reach 192-3 in the first innings in Dubai.
KKR, who had won both of their previous IPL finals in 2012 and 2014, made a decent fight of a forlorn-looking chase but finished 27 runs short on 165-9.
Du Plessis and Ruturaj Gaikwad (32), the top-scoring batsman of the IPL season, put up an opening stand of 61 before the latter was caught by Shivam Mari off a delivery from Sunil Narine (2-26).
Du Plessis was unperturbed, blunting the Knight Riders' attack with ruthless efficiency in a stellar knock. Robin Uthappa also scored 31 off just 15 balls before being trapped lbw and Moeen Ali kept up the impeccable standards with 37.
By the time Du Plessis was caught by Mari at long-on off the final ball of the innings, KKR's hopes were already looking slim, although they still mustered a creditable challenge.
Dhoni, in his 300th match as a captain in T20 cricket, dropped what looked a routine catch in the second over and Venkatesh Iyer took full advantage as he raced to a half-century.
It looked as though his stand with Shubman Gill (51) was finally over at 79-0 when Ambati Rayudu got a fine running catch, but Gill was granted a dead-ball reprieve after it struck one of the spider-cam cables on its way down.
Iyer was not so fortunate when he sent another ball from Shardul Thakur (3-38) high into the sky, Ravindra Jadeja grasping it in outstretched fingers as Kolkata's hopes took a major blow.
Du Plessis caught Nitish Rana for a first-ball duck and Narine holed out to Jadeja four deliveries later, as the middle order began to collapse.
Gill (51) was struck flush on the pad as he tried an ambitious scoop shot before Dinesh Karthik, Shakib Al Hasan and Rahul Tripathi were out for 11 runs combined.
Captain Eoin Morgan fell five runs short of reaching 1,000 in the IPL, Deepak Chahar taking a brilliant boundary catch, as the party started among the yellow shirts in the stands long before the fireworks flared after the final ball.
Four-midables
The Super Kings have now beaten the Knight Riders in six of their past seven IPL meetings, including the previous four in a row.
This was their ninth final, at least three more than any other side has reached, but they had only won three of the previous eight and were beaten by Kolkata in the showpiece nine years ago.
Yet their batting display was of a quality worthy of champions, Du Plessis in particular showing power and poise as he hit seven fours and three sixes en route to a third IPL title with the franchise.
Luckless Lockie
Before this match, Kolkata had a bowling dot-ball figure of 40 per cent, the best of any side in the competition. Here, they had little answer to the Super Kings' batting excellence.
Lockie Ferguson endured an especially tough time, posting figures of 0-56 and giving up nine boundaries and two wide balls from just four overs.
“We have the manpower within the dressing room”- Sammy confident Windies can overcome 0-2 deficit against England
West Indies white ball head coach Daren Sammy says there’s still optimism in his camp that they can overcome the 0-2 deficit they currently face in their five-game T20I series against England.
The hosts lost the first two game of the series at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday and Sunday, with the rest of the series now shifting to the Daren Sammy Stadium in St. Lucia beginning with the third T20I on Thursday.
“Most definitely, especially here in St. Lucia,” Sammy said in a pre-match interview on Tuesday regarding his team’s optimism ahead of Thursday’s must-win game and the rest of the series.
“Yes, England have played better cricket than us in these first two games but I’ve rallied St. Lucia to come out and be the 12th man that we need here. We just haven’t played the brand of cricket that has allowed us to win and it’s something that we’re going to address but we have the manpower within that dressing room to win on Thursday and take it one game at a time,” he added.
The West Indies will be without two key players for the rest of the series in Andre Russell and Shamar Joseph.
Russell suffered an ankle injury in the first T20I on Saturday and has been ruled out for the rest of the series while Joseph has left the squad to prepare for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh starting on November 22 in Antigua.
Replacing the pair are all-rounder Shamar Springer and spearhead Alzarri Joseph, returning to the squad after serving a two-game suspension.
“It’s always a blow to replace somebody like Andre Russell. We have young Shamar Springer who made his debut in Sri Lanka to replace him. He’s a really exciting prospect,” Sammy said.
“Shamar will go in and get ready for the Test series and Alzarri is back from his suspension. We’re looking forward to welcoming him and the experience he brings to the squad. Yes, we lose two key guys but we get two guys who are capable of doing the job for the team as well,” he added.
Springer replaces injured Russell in Windies squad for final leg of England T20Is in Saint Lucia; returning Alzarri Joseph replaces Shamar Joseph
All-rounder Shamar Springer and pacer Alzarri Joseph have been drafted into the West Indies T20I squad ahead of the crucial St. Lucia leg of their “Rivalry” series against England, CWI announced on Tuesday.
Springer replaces Andre Russell who has been ruled out due to a left ankle sprain sustained during the opening T20I at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday.
The 26-year-old Bajan recently made his international debut during the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka in October.
The other change sees Alzarri Joseph, having completed his two-match suspension, rejoin the squad in Saint Lucia, replacing Shamar Joseph.
The West Indies currently trail the five-match series 0-2.
The squad for the final three games is as follows:
Remaining Schedule of West Indies vs England T20I Series:
3rd T20 International: 14 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia
4th T20 International: 16 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia
5th T20 International: 17 November 2024- Daren Sammy Stadium, Saint Lucia
Pride get back on track with tense eight-run DLS method win over Volcanoes
The Barbados Pride rebounded from their defeat at the hands of the CCC in their last game with an eight-run DLS method win over the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain on Monday.
In the rain-reduced 46 overs-per-side affair, the Pride, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, posted 239-9 from their 46 overs.
In form batsmen Kevin Wickham and Leniko Boucher led the way for the Pride with 47 and 43, respectively while Kemar Smith (34*) and captain Kyle Mayers (33) also made valuable contributions.
Kenneth Dember was excellent in his 10 overs of off-spin, finishing with figured of 3-33.
Set a revised target of 245 from 46 overs, the Volcanoes fell agonizingly short of a win, being bowled out for 237 in the end.
Jeremy Solozano tried his best with an 88-ball 85 while West Indies batsman Kavem Hodge made 37.
Mayers led from the front with the ball with 3-50 from seven overs of medium pace while Dominic Drakes and Javed Leacock each took a pair of wickets.
Full Scores:
Barbados Pride 239-9 off 46 overs (Kevin Wickham 47, Leniko Boucher 43, Kemar Smith 34*, Kyle Mayers 33, Kenneth Dember 3-33)
Windward Islands Volcanoes 237 off 46 overs (Jeremy Solozano 85, Kavem Hodge 37, Kyle Mayers 3-50, Javed Leacock 2-37, Dominic Drakes 2-42).
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