IPL 7 T20 Final KXIP vs KKR: 5 reasons why SRK’s Kolkata will trounce Preity’s Punjab tonight

It’s the big night tonight, when the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League T20 tournament will come to end in M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, but not before some expected fireworks on the field.

It's Knights versus Kings. Preity Zinta's Kings XI Punjab, which has led the tournament as the top team this season, will face-off Shah Rukh Khan's resurgent Kolkata Knight Riders (action starts 6.30pm UAE time).

While KXIP have had a dream run this season, KKR on their part have had a miraculous journey, coming from behind after losing five of their first seven encounters this season. And they’ve made a comeback in the most remarkable of styles, winning eight matches on a trot now, the most that any team has ever won in the seven editions of the IPL.

This is a record that KKR currently hold jointly with the other finalist, KXIP, who won three of their final matches last season and five of their opening matches this season. 

Unlike VeerZara, the movie in which Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta shared screen space - and awards - winner will take all at the end of 40 overs tonight. 

The tournament that started on April 16 this year had a very successful UAE leg, with 20 matches played in the country. Sunil Gavaskar, interim president of IPL and BCCI, has gone so far as saying that the UAE leg was the highlight of this edition of IPL. That’s really saying something as this IPL edition particularly has seen massive action and some blistering knocks and performances.

“I think the highlight for me was the way the UAE leg went through. The response we got from fans and organisers there was incredible. The organisation and the management went on very smoothly as well,” he has been quoted as saying by IPLT20.com.

Coming back to the finals tonight, it is a battle royale between the two best teams of the tournament, but while KXIP have indeed had a great one, KKR go into the contest with a slight edge. Here’s why:

#1 History against KXIP: For one, no table-topper (at the end of the league stage) has won the IPL title. Barring, mind you, the inaugural 2008 edition, when Rajasthan Royals raced away with the tournament all through. Can KXIP rewrite history tonight?

#2 History in favour of KKR: This is more in favour of the captain than the team, but Gautam Gambhir is the second-most experienced captain in Twenty20 cricket; he has been captain in 95 T20 matches. Only CSK’s MS Dhoni’s 112 captain’s caps overshadow that record – and CSK isn’t in the finals this time, which means that Gambhir has the field all to himself, figuratively speaking.

#3 Momentum against KXIP: KKR are riding high, having won eight matches on a trot to reach the finals. KXIP, on the other hand, have had a mixed record in the last 5 matches – loss, win, win, loss, win. Will their last victory over CSK be enough for a winning momentum for KXIP?

#4 Momentum in favour of KKR: The KXIP vs KKR clash has happened a total of 14 times in the seven editions of IPL, and KKR have registered 8 triumphs against KXIP’s 6 wins. In IPL 7 too, the two have come head-to-head three times, with KKR stealing KXIP’s thunder on 2 occasions and KXIP managing to win just once.

#5 Bowling bane for KXIP: This is for those who will say ‘past history is no guarantee of future performance’. In their previous encounter (against CSK), three ace KXIP seamers – Mitchell Johnson, Sandeep Sharma and Parvinder Awana – gave away 135 runs in 11 overs between them. Goes without saying, KXIP – or any team for that matter – can ill-afford that kind of extravagance. KKR, on the other hand, have the most successful spin bowling attack in IPL 7, courtesy Sunil Narine’s 20 scalps, Piyush Chawla’s 12 victims, and Shakib Al Hassan’s 11 kills this season. Most KXIP batting heroes – Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, George Bailey, Manan Vohra and Wriddhiman Saha – are at best patchy against a quality spin attack. Of course Virender Sehwag can make any spin attack look tame on his day, but will lightning strike twice for KXIP? It's (almost) time to find out.

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