IPL 2021: "No one, including myself, felt that Kolkata can reach till there" - Aakash Chopra lauds KKR for reaching the final

Aakash Chopra has acknowledged that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have taken everyone by surprise by reaching the IPL 2021 final.

KKR were in dire straits at the start of the UAE leg of the current edition of the Indian Premier League, having registered just two wins in the seven matches they had played in India. However, they staged a grand comeback to make the playoffs and then stunned the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the Delhi Capitals (DC) to earn the right to face the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the title decider.

While reviewing KKR's win against DC in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra spoke in glowing terms about the Eoin Morgan-led side's sensational comeback. He said:

"Break ke baad Kolkata zindabad, zindabad. You have done magic. When the IPL had restarted, no one felt including myself that Kolkata can reach till there. Reaching the final, are you kidding me? That was the feeling that you got."

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that it was KKR's young brigade, predominantly Indians, who were the architects of the turnaround. Chopra elaborated:

"What a game, what a turnaround. Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Shubman Gill, Varun Chakravarthy, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Shivam Mavi towards the end - this has been an incredible story. The young Indians have changed the shape of their entire season."

The likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Varun Chakravarthy and Shivam Mavi have certainly risen to the occasion in the UAE leg of IPL 2021. The absence of Pat Cummins has also proved a blessing in disguise for KKR as they have been able to play Lockie Ferguson, who has been sensational with the ball.

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"KKR have understood the Sharjah pitch very well" - Aakash Chopra

The KKR spinners have bamboozled the opposition batsmen [P/C: iplt20.com]

While reflecting on KKR's bowling performance in yesterday's encounter, Aakash Chopra pointed out the potency of their bowling attack. He explained:

"KKR have understood the Sharjah pitch very well. Their three spinners are a twelve-over bank and after that, they have Lockie Ferguson. It's a damn good bowling attack on that surface."

The 44-year-old concluded by stating that it was an all-round bowling effort that helped KKR gain ascendancy over the Delhi Capitals. Chopra observed:

"There was no bowler who gave 30 runs in his four overs, outstanding. You had hit both Narine and Lockie for two sixes in an over but despite that nobody went for 30 runs. That is where the game changes."

All the KKR bowlers conceded between 26 and 28 runs in their four-over spells. Although Shakib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine did not pick up a wicket, they helped in keeping a check on the scoring rate.