Pandey guns KKR to second title
Manish Pandey's 94 off 50 balls ensured Knight Riders did not fall behind the asking rate at any stage and achieved the target of 200 with three balls to spare
Manish Pandey's 94 off 50 balls ensured Knight Riders did not fall behind the asking rate at any stage and achieved the target of 200 with three balls to spare
And so it ends, this season, with dry ice, fireworks, and a torrential confetti downpour. We've had a great time bringing it to you, and we hope you've enjoyed our coverage as well. Thanks a lot for tuning in, match after match, and sending in your comments, even though you know it's physically impossible to put them all up. That's it for us from the final, and what a match it was too. Good night!
Presentation time! The excitement's gotten to Ravi Shastri, who says it's been a fantastic final, and "no team deserved to win."
After an incredible century to completely turn Kings XI's innings around after a slow start, Wriddhiman Saha has to make do with just the maximum sixes award. The Man of the Match award goes to Manish Pandey.
"We have got four achievements, Ranji Trophy, Irani, cherry on the cake was the IPL," Pandey says, and misses out mentioning the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the third domestic tournament his team, Karnataka, won. "I'm very optimistic, and I love to play the crunch game. We got ten in the first over, and that was the time I thought, if we kept doing that, we'll get 200."
The catch of the season goes to Kieron Pollard, for his catch of Kevon Cooper Shreyas Gopal, Mumbai Indians' Bangalore boy, collects it on his behalf. I got a little frazzled and thought Shreyas had won it.
Glenn Maxwell wins an award for the maximum sixes for the season, and Akshar Patel wins the Emerging Player award
"I'm very proud I've beaten so many domestic and international players to No. 1," Akshar says. "Our bowling coach Joe [Dawes] makes a lot of plans for different batsmen, and I've worked on those. I think I'm a batting allrounder, but after this performance, maybe bowling allrounder."
Chennai Super Kings win the Fair Play award, which Mohit Sharma picks up.
Robin Uthappa gets the orange cap. "It's been surreal," he says. "I'm at a loss for words. I'm happy I've contributed in a meaningful manner. If I have to pick one innings, the one against Mumbai Indians, because I played with a broken toe, and I broke through a physical barrier."
Mohit Sharma wins the purple cap "I bowled a lot in the slog overs this season," he says. "I learned a lot. I've discovered more weaknesses than strengths, so I'll work on those ahead of the next season."
Those orange and purple caps were more like helmets, made of some heavy, blingy material, and both Uthappa and Mohit struggled to put them on. Glenn Maxwell is the MVP
George Bailey says it was a match worthy of being a final. He congratulates KKR, and congratulates Manish Pandey for a "ballsy innings."
"We've got a special bunch of guys, we've had a wonderful tournament, and our guys can hold their heads high." Asked to talk about his memories of the season, he says, "I enjoyed this one, I got to play a few games."
Gautam Gambhir collects the winners' cheque for Rs. 15 crore, and has a broad grin on his face as he walks up to talk to Shastri. "Where we were after first seven games, not many people thought we would be here," Gambhir says. "They absorbed a lot of pressure, a lot of credit needs to go to the team.
"This is a ground where it is very difficult to defend. We wanted to get it down to 5 overs, 50 or 60 to get. Manish played a fantastic innings, Yusuf chipped in, and Chawla hit that important six. Wriddhiman played an unbelievable innings. Manish is fearless."
Faras: "Both innings had a costly drop. Narine dropped Saha on 60, and Saha almost doubled his scored after that drop. Panday was dropped on 60, and scored crucial (quick) 34 after the drop catch. "
What a wonderfully controlled chase that was from Kolkata. It started with some really busy running during the Powerplay, in which they only played out eight dot balls. Manish Pandey then came up with a big shot whenever called upon to do so. Three times, he hit sixes immediately after KKR had lost a wicket.
Kings XI stayed in the game thanks to a superb spell from Akshar Patel, and Mitchell Johnson was one ball away from bowling a brilliant 19th over, before Chawla smashed that half-tracker out of the ground to leave them with just five to get from the last over.
Wriddhiman Saha put Kings XI in a brilliant position with the first-ever century in an IPL final, but his team might now wonder whether their slow start - they only scored 58 in their first ten overs - might have cost them the final.
Chawla: "The short ball was coming anytime," he says, when asked about that six off Johnson.
Shakib "Two times in three years. Can't feel better!"
Narine says there wasn't too much tension. "Just wanted to make contact and give it to Piyush"
"Freaking fantastic!" says an ecstatic Robin Uthappa.
Yusuf Pathan, the only player to win three IPL titles. "I shouldn't have played that shot. We might have finished the match two overs earlier."
"Incredible performance, nine games on the trot, true champions," says Wasim Akram "They enjoy each other's company and success."
Manish Pandey gives his home crowd a big wave, stump in one hand.
"Wriddhiman Saha played a blinder of an innings and we needed someone to match that," says ten Doeschate, when asked about Pandey's innings. "It's just been a great final."
After all those yorkers, why bowl the short ball? With that shot, it's now just five to get from the last over. Who will bowl it? It's Awana, who's had a shocker so far.
Wriddhiman Saha has said he rates his innings of 35 in the Adelaide Test two years ago higher than his century in the IPL final
Should he be in England's Test side? Should he not? How do you tell if a player is "ready"? Damn it all and pencil him in
Glenn Maxwell said his being rested during the latter half of the IPL "destroyed" his momentum and left him underprepared for the knockout matches
Reactions from Kolkata Knight Riders players and staff after winning their second IPL title
In an exclusive interview with ESPNcricinfo, Gautam Gambhir looks back at Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL title charge and looks ahead to India's tour of England