The current edition of the T20 Champions League came to an end tonight as the Chennai Super Kings completed a comprehensive victory over the Kolkata Knight Riders. Suresh Raina’s unbeaten 109 from 62 balls and Pawan Negi’s five-for came at the most opportune time to end the Knight Riders’ 14-game winning streak.
The winner of the all-India final took home $2.5-million. Not bad for about two weeks’ work. The title adds to an already impressive arsenal for Mahendra Singh Dhoni the Super Kings’ captain and India’s national captain. In addition to India Premier League titles, Dhoni’s India is the defending champion for next year’s ICC ODI World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Before the match, Kolkata was dealt a severe blow when one of T20’s top bowlers, Trinidad’s Sunil Naraine, was disqualified for a suspected illegal bowling action. He has also been sent home ahead of the West Indies’ tour of India that begins 8 October in Kochi. Add to that the Knight Riders’ field woes and you have a recipe for disaster.
Success is not new frontier for the Super Kings. Since the IPL began in 2008, Chennai has won two titles (2010 and 2011) and finished as runners-up three times (2008, 2012, 2013). That is a pretty impressive record of playing in the final five of the league’s seven seasons.
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