Acid test for tournament's best
Kolkata Knight Riders, the most consistent team so far in IPL 2012, face their toughest challenge yet against the two-time champions, who have peaked at just the right time

Can Knight Riders maintain their all-round consistency to prevent a hat-trick of titles for Super Kings? • AFP
In a tournament characterised by fluctuating fortunes and unpredictable results, the presence of Chennai Super Kings in the final seems to be the only constant. A week before the playoffs, Super Kings had to depend on multiple results going their way and were nearly out of the reckoning. However, an extraordinary sequence of results followed by two impeccable performances ensured that Super Kings qualified for their third consecutive final, the second in Chennai. Super Kings' batting struggled for much of the tournament but came good when it mattered most. In their two playoff matches, against Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils, they amassed huge totals of 187 and 222. Super Kings, easily the most consistent team across the five seasons, have reached four finals; the only time they failed to was when they lost the semis to Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2009.
Team | Matches | Wins/Losses (home) | Wins/losses (away) | W/L ratio (overall) | Bat avg/bowl avg | Avg diff | RR/ER | RR diff |
Kolkata Knight Riders | 16 | 3/4 | 8/1 | 2.20 | 25.97/20.92 | 5.05 | 7.57/7.01 | 0.56 |
Delhi Daredevils | 18 | 5/4 | 6/3 | 1.57 | 28.13/27.17 | 1.85 | 8.24/7.94 | 0.30 |
Chennai Super Kings | 18 | 7/3 | 3/4 | 1.42 | 26.94/23.81 | 3.13 | 7.94/7.59 | 0.35 |
Mumbai Indians | 17 | 3/5 | 7/2 | 1.42 | 23.22/23.86 | -0.64 | 7.43/7.65 | -0.22 |
For most of the tournament, Super Kings top order was kept afloat by Faf du Plessis. With M Vijay out of touch and Suresh Raina struggling, the middle order was under pressure often. The arrival of Michael Hussey provided more stability at the top and helped Vijay rediscover the form that made him dangerous in IPL 2011. Super Kings' middle order has always had a powerful look about it with MS Dhoni, Albie Morkel and Dwayne Bravo capable of changing the course of a match in a few overs. Knight Riders' batting fortunes have revolved around Gautam Gambhir, who is the second highest run-getter in IPL 2012. The presence of Brendon McCullum and Yusuf Pathan does add to the threat. Super Kings' top-seven batsmen have scored at a slightly higher average (26.74) and run-rate (7.60) compared to their Knight Riders counterparts. While Knight Riders' batsmen average similarly against pace or spin, Super Kings have done better against spinners in terms of average. However, Knight Riders' scoring rate against spinners (6.81) is still higher than the corresponding number for Super Kings.
Team | Top-seven batsmen (avg,SR) | Top-seven batsmen (100/50) | Against pace (avg, RR) * | Against spin (avg, RR) * |
Kolkata Knight Riders | 25.53/7.06 | 0/9 | 25.75, 7.27 | 25.21, 6.81 |
Chennai Super Kings | 26.74/7.60 | 1/6 | 26.07, 8.07 | 29.36, 6.55 |
Team | Overs (1-6) | Overs (7-14) | Overs (15-20) |
Kolkata Knight Riders (batting) | 35.60/7.41 | 29.60/7.04 | 18.25/8.56 |
Kolkata Knight Riders (bowling) | 29.45/6.75 | 27.56/6.60 | 13.48/7.86 |
Chennai Super Kings (batting) | 43.94/7.32 | 28.61/7.15 | 19.59/9.66 |
Chennai Super Kings (bowling) | 38.75/7.59 | 27.52/6.91 | 14.95/8.72 |
Before the game against Daredevils, R Ashwin had managed only five wickets at home in the season. Defending a huge total, he was able to bring out his variations and finished with excellent figures of 3 for 23. In what is likely to be a contest between two teams with excellent spin attacks, Knight Riders have the edge because of Sunil Narine, who has not gone for more than 29 runs in a completed spell. Not only is his haul of 24 wickets in the tournament the second highest, his economy rate of 5.20 is also the best by a distance. Spinners have taken a higher proportion of wickets for Knight Riders (42 out of 92) than for Super Kings (36 out of 89). Super Kings' pace bowlers, led by Ben Hilfenhaus, have done better than Knight Riders' fast bowlers against right-handers on the wickets and average front. Knight Riders' fast bowlers have more wickets against left-handers than Super Kings' pace bowlers but have a higher average and economy rate. On the spin front, Knight Riders dominate the stats. Against right-handers, they have a far better average (17.21) and economy rate (6.14) as compared to the figures for Super Kings' spinners. The difference is larger against left-handers. Super Kings' spinners only managed seven wickets at an average of 44.71 and economy rate of 7.30, while Knight Riders' spinners have excellent figures of 14 wickets at an average of 19.64 and economy rate of 6.02.
Team | Bowler type | Right-handers | Left-handers | Overall |
Kolkata Knight Riders | Pace | 35, 23.31/7.04 | 15, 37.00/7.89 | 50, 27.42/7.36 |
Kolkata Knight Riders | Spin | 28, 17.21/6.14 | 14, 19.64/6.02 | 42, 18.02/6.09 |
Chennai Super Kings | Pace | 42, 21.92/7.64 | 11, 34.45/7.52 | 53, 24.52/7.60 |
Chennai Super Kings | Spin | 29, 26.51/7.25 | 7, 44.71/7.30 | 36, 30.05/7.26 |
It can be argued that Daredevils' move to keep Morne Morkel, the highest wicket-taker in IPL 2012, out of the starting XI, was a huge mistake. That they did so to accommodate Andre Russell emphasises the value of an allrounder. Jacques Kallis, who has had an ordinary season with the bat by his standards, has raised his level with the ball. With the bat, he averages 22.66 at a scoring rate of 5.07 but Kallis has taken 14 wickets at an average of 26.35 and economy rate of 7.38. For Super Kings, not only has Bravo contributed vital runs in the final overs but he has also bowled economically at crucial stages. Presently, he is the second highest run-getter this season, behind du Plessis, and their highest wicket-taker.
Player | Team | Batting (Runs, avg/Scoring rate) | Bowling (Wickets, avg/Economy Rate) |
Jacques Kallis | Kolkata Knight Riders | 340, 22.66/5.07 | 14, 26.35/7.38 |
Shakib Al Hasan | Kolkata Knight Riders | 80, 13.33/5.97 | 11, 15.45/6.29 |
Yusuf Pathan | Kolkata Knight Riders | 193, 21.44/5.77 | 3, 55.00/7.85 |
Dwayne Bravo | Chennai Super Kings | 371, 46.37/7.02 | 14, 29.50/7.64 |
Albie Morkel | Chennai Super Kings | 107, 15.28/7.86 | 12, 28.91/7.62 |
Ravindra Jadeja | Chennai Super Kings | 191, 15.91/6.32 | 12, 22.75/7.80 |
Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan is a sub-editor (stats) at ESPNcricinfo