By Vadiraj Kanakagiri

Even before the game began, it seemed like the Kolkata team had lost half its mojo once they packed their bags from Sharjah. They had enjoyed such success on that low slow Sharjah wicket that they almost seemed like they were in unknown territory once Chennai's total crossed the 140 mark. With the bat, KKR were almost reduced to two batters up top, and once they perished, CSK shut the door completely.

Eoin Morgan won an all-important toss in the final and chose to bowl, hoping to chase anything as the wicket back a paradise to bat on. The ever-reliable pair of Gaikwad and Du Plessis continued in their merry way and put on yet another fifty run stand. After crossing the 24 run mark that he needed to claim the orange cap back from KL Rahul, Gaikwad got out mistiming one to long-off.

The beauty of the CSK set-up was on full display in this innings. The freedom in which the batters were going about their business was so refreshing to watch. The incoming batter Robin Uthappa came out all guns blazing and gave Faf the comfort of not having to take risks as he was the set batter. Once Faf also started to cut loose from the other end, it was a rampage. Robin looked in great nick, almost batting like his 2014 self. He eventually got trying to be cheeky and was plumb in front trying to play a reverse sweep for 31 off just 15.

Mo Ali joined Faf struggled a bit at the start, for all of 7 deliveries. The score looked stuck for a tiny little while. But in the sixteenth, Mo made up for his slow start by smacking Mavi out of the park a couple of times. Faf wasn't gonna be left behind either. He took a special liking to Lockie Ferguson and robbed 19 off the very next over. Faf played a blinder of an innings and stood up for his team in a big game as a experienced Pro. His sixes over extra cover and long off in this innings of 86, need a special mention. Mo Ali also played a great cameo and added 37 himself of 20.

KKR's biggest weapon with the ball, their spin trio, looked toothless on this wicket once it didn't have any assistance for them. Narine did bowl well though, as he picked up 2 wickets that were to fall. But Chakravarty and Shakib went for 71 for none off their combined seven overs. Lockie Ferguson had his worst day with the ball in the IPL, as he ended up conceding 56.

Only way KKR could've got anywhere closer to this target was if their openers did the heavy lifting once again. And they did it again. The new superstar, Venki Iyer was dropped off his very second ball by none other than MSD. He made them pay and along with his partner, started bludgeoning the bowling from the outset. Iyer's standing tall punches and Gill's pull shots are just something else. The pair carried on aggressively matching each other stroke by stroke. Iyer brought up his fifty off 31 balls and looked good to take his team home.

But Dhoni and Chennai were playing the waiting game. They all knew it was just a matter of one wicket. Take one, get ten seemed like the whispers around the CSK camp. But KKR's score had already reached 90 within 10. The game was firmly in the balance.

Then came the game-changer, as he has done most often this season, Lord Shardul Thakur. In one over, eleventh of the innings, he completely turned the game on its head, first by scalping Venkatesh Iyer and then on the last ball, sending Nitish Rana back to the hut. This was enough for Chennai to climb onto KKR batters shoulders. Every single one of them started to unleash their champion selfs. They bowled and fielded as if they had already won the game.

KKR, though, followed their similar suit. They were batting exactly like how they had batted throughout this second leg. After a match winning opening stand, press the panic button and somehow just about cross the winning line. But this time the target was above 190 and not below 140. The winning line was still very far.

Rana, Karthik, Narine, Shakib didn't even got their score above ten. No one, literally no one took the responsibility apart from the openers. In form Rahul Tripathi, had injured his hamstring while fielding. So he came into bat at No.8. He got out trying to pull one, as he couldn't generate any power behind it. He was limping as he made his way out. All hopes were then on Captain Morgan. Or were they? Due to his awful form, no one really expected him to be the saviour. And it turned out exactly that way. He got out on awful 4 off 8 deliveries, when the required rate was nearing 14 and over.

From 91 for none, they had crumbled to 125 for 8. Their fate in the final was sealed. It was sealed once the opening stand was broken with still over a hundred runs to get. The opening partnership can only take you so far. It carried them till the finals. That was an unbelievable feat in itself. How can a team, with literally no middle order, reach a final, that too in a league like IPL, is just unbelievable.

Although he went the distance in the backend of the innings trying out some different things, Shardul Thakur was the pick of the bowlers as he scalped three. Hazlewood and Jadeja picked up two each and hunted in pairs.

So, a fourth title for the legendary MSD. It's amazing that he hasn't lost his touch on the captaincy, this late in his career. The big question about his availability for next season, when Harsha Bhogle congratulated him on the great legacy that he's left behind in the post-match presentation, Dhoni quickly corrected Harsha and said, ' Still I haven't left behind na?' , and walked away with a cheeky smile.

Brief Scores:Chennai Super Kings 192/3 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 86, Moeen Ali 37*) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 165/9 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 51, Venkatesh Iyer 50; Shardul Thakur 3-38) by 27 runs