KOLKATA, India, IANS-CMC – The highly anticipated final of the Indian Premier League today, will carry a distinct Caribbean flavour as four West Indies superstars are set to play a role in ensuring either Mumbai Indians or Chennai Super Kings lift the coveted title.
For two-time champions CSK, all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and opener Dwayne Smith will feature while for Mumbai, who won have won the title once, star all-rounder Kieron Pollard and fellow Trinidadian Lendl Simmons will be two of the key men.
Bravo has been the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 24 scalps and his medium pace will be important especially at the death, while his batting could come in handy down the order.
Smith, meanwhile, has been disappointing, and has managed just 342 runs at 22, with a highest score of 62 – his only half-century of the tournament.
Both Pollard and Simmons, meanwhile, proved their worth in the first qualifier which saw them book their spot in the final. Simmons hammered 65 and Pollard, a whirlwind 41 off 17 balls with five sixes.
Simmons has been major, plundering a team-leading 472 runs at a fine average of 42 with five half-centuries while Pollard has hit 383 runs at an average of 38.
The road to the final was not easy for either of the two teams. Mumbai had a disastrous start to their campaign as they lost all of their first four matches.
But just when things looked bleak for the Rohit Sharma-led outfit, the team bounced back with some panache as it won seven of its last nine group games to make it to the title round.
They took along the momentum to the Wankhede stadium – their home turf – where they beat CSK by 25 runs in Qualifier 1 and booked a place in the ultimate showdown.
Chennai, on the other hand, had a consistent season as they finished atop the league table with 18 points from 14 games.
But the heavyweights had a slip up en route to the final, at the Wankhede, but recovered with a very clinical performance against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Friday night as they outdid Virat Kohli’s side by three wickets in Ranchi.
Considering the head to head battles, it is difficult to differentiate between the two franchises with Mumbai having clinched 11 games to CSK’s 10.
Thus a battle of the titans await the fans and supporters at Eden on Sunday as each side unleash their full fury to clinch the trophy on a wicket that has fulfilled expectations this tournament.
