The South African opener was named Player of the Match after helping Chennai secure a 27-run victory in Dubai on 15 October, completing a remarkable recovery from their seventh-place finish the previous season.

Du Plessis struck seven fours and three sixes in his 59-ball innings as CSK posted 192-3, before restricting Kolkata to 165-9.

His innings provided the foundation for three productive partnerships. He shared an opening stand of 61 with Ruturaj Gaikwad, who made 32, before adding 63 with Robin Uthappa.

Uthappa contributed 31 off just 15 deliveries, maintaining Chennai’s momentum through the middle overs. Moeen Ali then struck an unbeaten 37 off 20 balls, sharing a further 68 with Du Plessis, who fell to Shivam Mavi off the final delivery of the innings.

Kolkata’s reply initially threatened to undo that work. Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill put on 91 for the first wicket, giving their side a strong platform in pursuit of 193.

Shardul Thakur changed the course of the chase in the 11th over, dismissing Iyer for 50 and Nitish Rana for a duck. Josh Hazlewood then removed Sunil Narine as Chennai began to work through Kolkata’s batting.

Gill made 51, but Kolkata’s promising start unravelled into a collapse in which they lost eight wickets for 34 runs. Ravindra Jadeja removed Dinesh Karthik and Shakib Al Hasan from successive deliveries, while captain Eoin Morgan and Rahul Tripathi also fell cheaply.

Thakur finished with 3-38, with Hazlewood and Jadeja taking two wickets apiece as Chennai closed out the victory.

For Du Plessis, the final capped an outstanding campaign. He finished with 633 runs, just two behind opening partner Gaikwad, who claimed the Orange Cap with 635.

The individual award narrowly escaped him, but his contribution on the biggest night helped put Chennai back on top.

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