Daijiworld Media Network
Bangalore, Jun 1 : After 59 hard fought games, we are left with two teams who are waiting to get their hands on the coveted Indian T20 League trophy. This is the first time that Punjab have made it to the final in their history, while Kolkata have already got there once before in 2012 and were also crowned champions. Can Gautam Gambhir's men lift the cup for the second time or will it be George Bailey's boys who will win their first title? All to look forward to in this exciting final.
Interestingly, Kolkata have beaten Punjab twice this year in three outings, including their thumping win in Qualifier 1. So we are all set for mini-battles like Glenn Maxwell v Sunil Narine, Virender Sehwag v Morne Morkel. Both sides are not expected to make any major changes to their line-ups. We are not far away from the toss. Take a short break and be right back here because it's going to be interesting.
Kolkata have won the toss and have opted to field
Gambhir: 'We need to play good cricket, when two quality sides meet each other, we have to do all the three departments well. I don't agree with the statement that it is their batting versus our bowling. We have done well in our batting and they have done well in their bowling. Robin has been hitting the ball really well, hopefully he can carry on. I want to bowl, looks a good wicket, also this is a good chasing wicket, hopefully will restrict them and chase it down. We are going with an unchanged side.'
Bailey: 'Mate, the Punjabis are always up for it! Very happy to be here, want to cap it off with one more good game. I've been really proud, to the guys who have played all the games, the ones who haven't. I came in and had a hit, I came in for the press conference last night, so made the most of it. I wasn't sure about the toss, as Gautam said, this is a good chasing ground. In a big game it's always nice to put runs on the board. Balaji comes in for Sandeep Sharma. Good to have the experience in a big game.'
As is the case always before big games - Ravi Shaz is screaming at the top of his voice at the toss, which can be heard till Lalbagh! The captains comments are here.
Teams:
Punjab (Playing XI): Manan Vohra, Virender Sehwag, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha(w), George Bailey(c), Akshar Patel, Mitchell Johnson, Parvinder Awana, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Karanveer Singh
Kolkata (Playing XI): Gautam Gambhir(c), Robin Uthappa(w), Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Ryan ten Doeschate, Suryakumar Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Morne Morkel, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav
Yusuf Pathan's blitz against Hyderabad came at a crucial time for Kolkata as it helped them pip Chennai to grab the second place and with it, an extra chance to make it to the final by playing the Qualifier 1. The fact that the big game was played at their home came as an added advantage and the Men in Purple made full use of it by thumping Punjab and getting a direct entry for today's final. Sunil Narine has always stolen the show with the ball and he is deservingly the highest wicket-taker for them.
He had to take a few tough decisions a couple of days ago and he eventually chose to play for Kolkata in the final and opted out of West Indies' training camp for their home Test series against New Zealand that's coming up in a few days time. This meant that he will miss out on selection for the first Test in Jamaica, which will be Chris Gayle's 100th Test if he is declared fit to play, as the West Indies board made it clear that players missing the camp will be ignored for the first Test. Coming back to Kolkata, Umesh Yadav too has found good form and is amongst the wickets while Morne Morkel troubled the batsmen with his pace and steep bounce. So overall, the side looks settled and rightly, this contest is termed as 'The Best Batting Unit vs The Best Bowling Unit.'
Kolkata on the other hand didn't have the best of starts this year winning just two games in the UAE leg. Their beginning to the Indian leg wasn't fruitful either with losses to Chennai and Rajasthan. However, when they had their backs against the wall, Gambhir pulled the team together and things started to happen ever since they beat Delhi in Delhi. The move to ask Robin Uthappa to open the innings paid rich dividends for not only Kolkata, but also for the player himself as he couldn't put a foot wrong and scored massive runs against all opposition. In fact, he went on to become the only player in the world to score 10 consecutive scores of 40 in T20s apart from edging Maxwell to become the leading run-getter of this edition. Just like Akshar Patel, Robbie grabbed eyeballs with his impressive show and was also named in the national squad for Bangladesh.
The story was no different when the tournament returned to India as they found ways to come on top apart from a few setbacks. Though Maxwell did not fire in India as he did in the Middle-East, the young Indian stars put their hands up and performed well for the team. Virender Sehwag was getting the starts in almost every match but he wasn't making a whole lot of runs. However, people believed that he was due for a big knock sometime and he chose the Qualifier 2 against Chennai to stun MS Dhoni & Co. Akshar Patel has been simply outstanding, both with bat and ball in this tournament and it also earned him a place in the Indian squad for the tour of Bangladesh. So all in all, Punjab look a complete unit and it's not surprising to see people give them the 'team to beat' tag.
The journey for Punjab has been simply stunning. With 11 wins out of 14 league games, they became only the fifth team to end the league stages with 22 points or more in the history of the tournament. When the tournament began in the UAE, Punjab were almost invincible and no side could match them on a given day. Glenn Maxwell stole the show with a series of not just big runs, but also quick runs while David Miller too joined the party to start the M&M show.
Bangalore plays a perfect host for this grand finale, primarily because of a true pitch and the shorter boundaries on offer, meaning that it will be a high-scoring thriller. However, unlike before, this year we've seen the spinners get some purchase here and it will be interesting to see the surface that is in store for us tonight.
Final match Preview :
After 56 league matches, 3 play-offs and a huge number of roller-coaster rides, the final of the seventh edition of the Indian T20 League has finally arrived. The two best teams of this season, Punjab and Kolkata have deservedly made it to the title round. While Punjab have taken the tournament by storm, with their 'attack at all costs' policy, Kolkata have strung together eight facile victories in a row.
At Bengaluru, the power-hitters from both teams will be looking forward to register their presence and draw the curtains on what has been a thoroughly enjoyable extravaganza.
Punjab
Perhaps the team to beat this year, Punjab are into their first final of the T20 League. Already boasting of a devastating batting line-up, George Bailey's men look to have all the ingredients required to annex the trophy.
The batting has been powerful, the bowling more than decent and has been backed up by some electric fielding - all factors contributing to their success so far.
Top Run scorers: With 552 runs, Maxwell sits pretty at the 3rd position in the runs chart while Sehwag has jumped to the 6th spot with 448 runs. Miller is not far back, at 7th place with 445 runs - meaning Punjab boast of three batsmen in the top-10.
Top Wicket takers: Despite featuring in only 11 matches, Sandeep Sharma has earned a place in the top-10. He is 5th with 18 wickets while Akshar Patel, the find of the season for Punjab, lies just one spot below with 17 wickets.
League performance: Played 14. Won 11. Lost 3.
Position in the points table: 1
Qualifier 1: Lost to Kolkata by 28 runs.
Qualifier 2: Beat Chennai by 24 runs.
Kolkata
If Punjab are bristling with talent, complete team effort has been the reason for the surge in Kolkata's ranks. Looking down and out at one stage of the tournament, Kolkata bounced back in spectacular fashion, reeling off seven wins in a row to make it to the playoffs.
Supported vociferously by the partisan home-crowd, they romped home against their final opponents (PUN) in fine style to book an automatic slot in the summit clash. While the batting has been solid, largely led by Robin Uthappa, the bowlers have gelled well as an unit.
Top Run Scorers: Robin Uthappa is in the form of his life with 655 runs, he is well placed to finish the tournament as the leading run scorer. The next best for Kolkata is Gautam Gambhir - with 309 runs he lies at a distant 22nd position.
Top Wicket takers: At 3rd position, Sunil Narine has been arguably the best Kolkata bowler on show. He has not just snaffled 20 wickets, but his overs have cost him a miserly 6.01 RPO. There was some doubt if he could make it to the final but having decided against playing for the West Indies in the Test series against New Zealand, he will be very much there to lead Kolkata's charge once again. Piyush Chawla is the next best bowler with 12 wickets, but he is at 17th spot. The figures only go on to show that Kolkata have not relied on a single individual but have performed as a team in their march towards the final.
League performance: Played 14. Won 9. Lost 5.
Position in the points table: 2
Qualifier 1: Beat Punjab by 28 runs.
Head-to-Head record: The two teams have faced each other 14 times. Kolkata has won 8 times while Punjab have emerged victorious on 6 occasions.
2014 tournament record: Punjab trounced Kolkata in their first meeting at Abu Dhabi, but Kolkata came back strongly to beat Punjab twice during their 8-match winning streak.