5 Long years is what it takes for the Knight Riders to win their first IPL tournament.  I get reminded of the song “Riders on The Storm” by The Doors. The way the Knight Riders have played this edition of the IPL is no less than a warrior swaying in the storm and fighting his enemies. The Kolkata Knights have definitely waged battle against the other 8 strong Teams and have won hard fought battles. The Knights armour is finally shining and has thrown the football crazy city of Kolkatta into total mayhem. Celebrations galore and sweets are being distributed in every household. It’s time to rejoice finally.

Controversy has got many a reason for the boost of a Team’s Morale. As soon as the Team ownerShah Rukh Khan got banned by the Maharashtra Cricket Association for his alleged misbehaviour it seemed that KKR’s time had finally arrived. The way they dominated Delhi in the 1st Playoffs was remarkable.  After winning the toss in Pune, It was no surprise that Gautam Gambhir decided to bat on what was a placid pitch. He made full use of the track and hammered runs at a strike rate of 200. Some useful hitting by the out of form Yusuf Pathan helped them reach 162 which i felt was a par score. What favoured the KKR team was their remarkable fielding and the magician from Trinidad & Tobago called Sunil Narine. His decisive spell of 2 for 24 (4 Overs) is what tilted the balance towards the Kolkatta Knight Riders.

Now let’s talk about the finals. Everybody thought the Chennai Super Kings were going to do a Chelsea. Everybody knows the way the Europa Champions league team – Chelsea played the entire tournament. Not impressive but they built their momentum going right through the final and winning it. The Chennai team also peaked at the right time but were over classed by the magic of a lesser known figure called Manvinder Bisla. To drop Mc Cullum for the finals i must say was a big risk that the Knight Rider’s Team management took and in place they got this Flamboyant wicketkeeper batsman from Himachal Pradesh. His knock of 89 in the finals is what sealed the fate for SRK’s Team. The risk paid off.

Chennai had a fantastic start to their innings and it looked like the centurion in the last match Murali Vijay was going to take the game away from the KKR’s grasp. A whirlwind innings from Suresh Raina 73 (38 Balls) also made sure that they reached an excellent total of 190 that too on a final. But the brilliance by the way Bisla and Kallis batted made sure that KKR was eventually going to win the battle.  Tiwary made sure that the cup was in their hands after smashing 2 boundaries of Bravo.

For me the major contributors for the Knight Riders in this edition of the IPL were 1. Sunile Narine(Man of The Tournament) for his fantastic bowling and the way he bowled the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar is still etched in my mind. 2. Gautam Gambhir 590 runs at an average of 36.87 and the second highest scorer in this IPL after Gayle. The orange helmet would have definitely gone to him but that would have been possible if Gayle was absent from the tournament. 3. Manvinder Bisla  - The rookie played one of his finest knocks ever in the finals 89 runs. A match winning knock indeed.

This IPL really thrilled me and the millions of Indians. All i can say is that this tournament is going to get bigger and better.