May 27, 2012 | KKR Beat CSK in Chepauk Thriller to Win Maiden IPL Title

On this day (May 27) in 2012, Kolkata Knight Riders beat Chennai Super Kings in a thrilling final of the IPL 2012 at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai to win their first IPL title.

By doing so, they denied CSK a hat-trick of titles; MS Dhoni's men had won the IPL in the two previous years.

Little known Manvinder Bisla was the star of the night for KKR, smashing 89 off 48 balls with 8 fours and 5 sixes to help KKR chase a stiff target of 191 with 2 balls to spare. The experienced Jacques Kallis also made a vital 69 off 49.

Interestingly, Bisla would not have played the match had it not been for an injury to pacer L Balaji in the previous game. Bisla grabbed the chance to emerge the Player of the Final.

Chasing 191, KKR lost captain Gautam Gambhir in the first over to Ben Hilfenhaus. Bisla and Kallis then added 136 for the second wicket to set up the chase before the former fell in the 15th over.

Kallis took the game deep before falling in the penultimate over to give CSK a sniff. However, Shakib Al Hasan and Manoj Tiwary held their nerves to pull off a thrilling win.

Earlier, CSK had posted a competitive 190 for 3 with Michael Hussey (54), M Vijay (42) and Suresh Raina (73 off 38) playing their parts.

The title was a huge turnaround for KKR, who had tasted little success in the first four years. The team changed drastically with Gambhir taking over as skipper in 2011, and subsequently leading them to title victory the following year.

KKR have since gone on to win one more title, defeating Kings XI Punjab in Bangalore in 2014.