After 59 lengthy matches, the IPL is finally ready for the grand final. The teams competing are… Punjab and Kolkata, both of which deserve their spot.
Punjab pummeled their way into this event after veteran Virender Sehwag lashed 122 from 58 deliveries in the 2nd qualifier to get the win for the Kings XI. They have been the form team of this competition and they definitely deserve to be in this final. They might not necessarily be the best team on paper, but come game day, they click on and they work as a team to perfection.
Kolkata had a tough start to the season, but the length of the competition helped them out because they got a chance to fight back, and they did, managing their way into the first qualifying final. Amazingly, they beat Punjab! Which put Punjab through to the second qualifier after the eliminator which would determine who would go through to face Punjab in the grand final decider.
Chennai won by 7 against Mumbai in the eliminator, and came up to face Punjab, but were smashed by 24 runs.
The big match will be held at Bangalore on the 1st of June, and there will be plenty of talking points. Glenn Maxwell and Virender Sehwag will be vital to the batting success of the Kings XI, along with David Miller and George Bailey. Whilst with the ball the weight really lies on the shoulders of Mitchell Johnson, but he has good support in Parvinda Awana and Sandeep Sharma.
One big point is that this is the first time Punjab have made an IPL grand final, out of 7 attempts. Kolkata have been there before, and were victorious recently in 2012. I think it will come down to experience, and which team clicks together the best.
Kolkata have a fairly decent team, with Sunil Narine, Morne Morkel, Gautam Gambhir and Shakib al Hasin. Like Punjab, they need to click together.
It will be a very exciting match and I can’t wait to see what happens. I am sure they will get a fairly big crowd, for the Bangalore locals are very good supporters.
