It has come down to the D-Day of the Indian Premier League Season V and after much speculation the cricketing world would see Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings clashing against each other to establish their supremacy.

CSK have won the tournament twice on the trot and would vie for a hat-trick whereas KKR would be aiming for their first IPL glory. Going by how the tournament shaped one cannot deny the fact that Kolkata looked far more dominating than CSK, but then CSK’s records at the IPL show how dangerous they can be when it comes down to the wire. And moreover the way they played their last two matches showed that they have shed all their inhibitions and are ready for the kill.

It would be a cracker of a match and would be a great feast for the eyes when two captains eyeing for glory eventually would taste it. Here is a look as to how Gautam Gambhir captain of KKR and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, skipper of CSK fared in the tournament and whose mind is likely to prevail on the grand stage.

Gautam Gambhir: Gautam Gambhir has looked the best skipper of the tournament and way his team has performed is largely due to the way he has led the side. His performance in the tournament on a personal level has also been great and his figures show it. He has scored 494 runs, including six half centuries in the tournament so far and only Chris Gayle from Royal Challengers Bangalore has more runs than him in the tournament.

Gambhir has been a great side and it due to his actions that KKR revived after three disastrous seasons earlier. He brought a complete change in their attitude and last season after losing out in the play-offs, he made sure that his team finds a place in the summit clash. Gambhir has been exemplary when it comes down to decision and the stylish south paw has kept immense faith on his players. And this might be the reason as to two of his prime players of the tournament Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Yusuf Pathan after failing consistently, played to their character against Delhi Daredevils and helped the team to their first IPL finals.

His decision making has also been great and the way he handled affairs out in the middle is a proof enough to that. He read the conditions well throughout the tournament and for instance his decision to go with three spinners in the crucial match against Delhi Daredevils worked like a master plan and did wonders for the side.
Going into the finals against the mighty CSK, KKR would enter as a fierce competitor and will pose a great challenge to MS Dhoni.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: He is not new to situation and he has been there thrice and won on two occasions. So he would be more relaxed but that is no means would make him complacent. He would very well know how dangerous a side KKR have looked.

But on a personal note, Dhoni who made CSK the most successful side of the IPL after some initial hiccups picked up well. He has done it countless times before both in international arena and IPL and his ability to jump back at the right time is something worth praising.

After making it to the qualifiers by the virtue of better run rate something which he would not have liked had just been dominating in their last two matches and their result against Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils prove it. He seems to have found back his Midas touch, something which can be the determining factor in the finals. And also the “Captain Cool” who was not good with the bat in the league stages played two good innings and a special knock in the finals is anticipated of his willow considering his knack at doing it at big stages.

Dhoni on papers hold an edge over Gambhir as a captain considering his record, but that hardly might come into play on the D-Day because the way Gambhir has thrived as a captain in this season shows that he would not be intimidated by anything past records or a buoyant character and rather would be up for any challenge thrown at him.