Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta have been together in many a Bollywood blockbuster but this coming together of the actor-owners in the Indian Premier League final has the trappings of a fascinating battle.
Shahrukh’s Kolkata Knight Riders have turned around a poor season in incredible fashion with eight wins on the trot while Preity’s unheralded Punjab have ripped up the form-book by topping the league phase and staking a claim for the title.
Kolkata’s success has largely been built around opener Robin Uthappa’s blazing run of form, Gautam Gambhir’s aggressive captaincy and a potent bowling attack, which ranks among the best in the league.
Uthappa, 28, has been a revelation with his consistency and fluency, stroking his way to 10 consecutive 40-plus scores since he was handed the opening role.
The former India opener has smashed 655 runs, which has earned him a recall to the national limited-overs team.
Gambhir has also been central to the team’s resurgence after they had notched just two wins at the halfway stage of the league.
Ever since the left-handed batsman overcame a disastrous start – 1, 0 , 0, 0 in the first four matches – Kolkata’s fortunes have turned. With Gambhir rediscovering his form Kolkata were always assured of a flying start, and six of their last eight victories were after a run-chase.
Sunil Narine (20 wickets from 16 matches) is another vital player for Kokata. The off-spinner has been Gambhir’s go-to man in a crisis and the Trinidadian has delivered every time, be it by choking the run flow or claiming a vital wicket.
Gambhir has given confidence to his bowlers by setting up attacking fields even in the death overs and it has produced the desired results as no team has scored more than 165 runs against them in their last eight matches.
Kolkata hold the edge in the final on form and experience as they have won two of their last three meetings against Punjab and have won the title before in 2012.
Besides that, only one team that topped the league standings has gone on to win the title – Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural edition in 2008.
They will, however, have to come up with a huge effort to upstage Punjab, who will be fired up after their victory against Chennai Super Kings on Friday.
Unlike Kolkata, who have relied on Uthappa for most of their runs, Punjab have flourished despite Glenn Maxwell’s drop in form during the Indian leg.
Opener Manan Vohra, wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha and David Miller have stepped up to maintain the run charge and veteran Indian opener Virender Sehwag, who scored a blazing 122 off 58 balls on Friday, has emerged as a new batting hero.
The advantage with Sehwag is that he is equally adept at playing pace and spin, unlike Maxwell who has been troubled by the leg spinners.
The short boundaries at Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium will be another incentive for the Punjab batters to take revenge against IPL7’s best bowling attack.
Punjab may lack big match experience for their first IPL final, but the way they withstood Chennai’s charge to win the second qualifier will give them huge confidence.
That’s why I think Kings XI can defy the odds and beat Kolkata in what should be a fitting grand finale to the IPL season.
