After more than a month of exhilarating action, Indian Premier League season V has come down to the day where the Kolkata Knight Riders would take on Chennai Super Kings in the battle to decide as to who would have their name written on the coveted IPL trophy.

Defending champions Chennai have made it to their fourth final of the tournament and three in a row and go hard at the match to stretch their invincible run, whereas the Kolkata Knight Riders would look to be the champion for the first time and halt Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai’s golden run.

Kolkata has by far looked the best team of the tournament and sure would give their opponent a run for their money whereas Chennai after an inconsistent run in the tournament have picked up well and would definitely want to complete a hat-trick of wins.

Both the players have some great players in their armoury and are likely to be amidst all the action and the outcome of the match would largely depend as to how these stalwarts perform in the match.

Here are the players to watch out for in tomorrow’s big match:

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Gautam Gambhir: The skipper is the second highest scorer of the tournament and is leading the side by an example. It is largely due to his efforts that KKR has come so far in the tournament and he would the key in tomorrow’s final against Chennai. He has been at his aggressive best and takes on the bowlers straight away. Dhoni has to come up with some strategy to knock him off early because if that does not happen then things definitely can turn ugly for the two times champion Chennai.

Yusuf Pathan: After performing badly throughout the tournament, he performed when it was most required and his innings against Delhi Daredevils in the qualifier I was something that helped them a lot in making their first IPL final appearance. He has this in him to perform at big matches and KKR would be hoping for him to fire and if he does then Chennai’s dream of three IPL victories on the trot might just remain a dream.

Sunil Narine: He is the second highest wicket taker in the tournament and since Morne Morkel, who is leading the chart, would not feature in the tournament anymore, Narine can very well make the Purple cap his own. He has been the mystery man of the tournament and his clever bowling has even caught the great man Sachin Tendulkar unawares. He can prove very deadly on the MA Chidambaram pitch, which has been favouring the slow bowlers.

Jacques Kallis: He has not done much in the tournament with the bat but with the ball has looked good. He can get very dangerous on his given day and expect him to use all his experience while bowling on the big day. He can vary his line well and mixes pace brilliantly and definitely would create problem if not dealt properly.

Chennai Super Kings:

Michael Hussey: It is a big match and there will be a lot of pressure on the defending champions and if anybody can thrive under pressure its Hussey. The gifted Aussie left-hander is a big match player and a lot will depend on him. His job will be to provide CSK a solid foundation.

Murali Vijay: After struggling with the bat for most of the tournament, he could not have chosen a better day to show his quality. His century against Delhi Daredevils single-handedly took Chennai into the finals. If he gets going against KKR also then all the speculation as to who might win the tournament can be put to rest.

Ben Hilfenhaus: He single-handedly won Chennai two matches and he is one of the major reasons that CSK is in the playoffs. But Hilfenhaus knows that he would be bowling to Gambhir first up so would have to keep some strategy up his sleeve and his main job would be to counter the KKR skipper.

Dwayne Bravo: He has been doing a terrific job for Chennai with both bat and ball. Bravo is an intelligent cricketer and has a very positive attitude towards the game. He will be looking to score a point on the big day.

By Samikshan Dutta Choudhury
Indian Sports News