When technology interferes with fate, and a final hangs in the balance
It wasn't a no-ball. It wasn't DRS. It wasn't even bad light. It was an unexpected twist-a cable, hanging mid-air, minding its own business, that brought the IPL 2021 final to a halt.
In the 10th over of the Kolkata Knight Riders' chase, Shubman Gill aimed to take on Ravindra Jadeja. The ball flew off the toe end of his bat and soared into the Dubai sky. Ambati Rayudu judged it perfectly, sprinted in from the deep, and caught it cleanly. CSK celebrated. Gill trudged off. But then, the umpires paused everything.
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As replays rolled in, eagle-eyed viewers noticed that the trajectory of the ball had changed ever so slightly. It had brushed against the spider cam cable while in mid-air, and according to the rulebook, any such contact leads to a dead ball.
The third umpire confirmed it, and just like that, Shubman Gill was back in the middle, not out on 27. It was a lucky escape that left Jadeja fuming and CSK fans stunned. A potential game-turning moment had been neutralised by a wire hanging in the air, adding an unexpected layer of tension to the match.
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What could have been a decisive turning point for Kolkata turned out to be a mere detour. Gill did make his way to a half-century—51 off 43 balls—but the pressure kept climbing.
Shardul Thakur, Hazlewood, and Deepak Chahar brought Chennai right back into the contest with timely breakthroughs. Gill's reprieve didn't change the tide of the match. In fact, CSK responded with even more fire.
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Earlier in the day, Eoin Morgan had chosen to chase in the big final — a trend that had worked wonders during the UAE leg. But CSK arrived with a plan and flawless execution. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis started briskly, adding 50 runs in the powerplay. Gaikwad met the Orange Cap target early, scoring 32 before falling to Narine.
But Faf wasn't finished. He paced his innings like a maestro — anchoring, rotating, and exploding. His 86 off 59, filled with timing and intent, anchored Chennai's total of 192/3. Uthappa contributed with a fiery 31 off 15, and Moeen Ali seized the game with 37* off 20. The trio dismantled KKR's bowling, particularly Lockie Ferguson and Shakib, who conceded 56 and 33 runs respectively.
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Kolkata's chase began brightly — Gill and Iyer forged a 91-run partnership, with both scoring fifties. But once Thakur dismissed both in the same over, the innings collapsed. From 91/0, they plunged to 125/8. Chennai's bowling struck all the right notes at the right moments. Hazlewood's control, Bravo's variations, and Jadeja's economy strangled the Knight Riders. In the end, KKR fell short by 27 runs.
Credit: ESPN
