CSK skipper MS Dhoni won the crucial toss on the night of the IPL 2023 final and invited Gujarat to put a total on the board.
GT opener duo of Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill continued from where they left against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Qualifier 2. Both batters played their natural attacking game by putting the bad balls towards the boundary. Sai Sudharsan capitalised on a strong start and smashed 96 off 47 balls, including 6 sixes and helped Gujarat to reach the humongous total of 214-4.
Sudharsan looked flawless with the bat throughout his innings and played some amazing and breathtaking shots against Chennai’s not-so-disciplined bowling lineup. Ruturaj Gaikwad (26) and Devon Conway (47) plundered 72 runs from the first six overs before Noor Ahmad removed both in the seventh over. Shivam Dube, who made 32 not out, kept Chennai in the race, but Mohit Sharma removed Ambati Rayudu and Dhoni in successive deliveries.
CSK needed 13 runs with Dube and Ravindra Jadeja in the middle, and Sharma, who picked up 27 wickets on his IPL return with Titans, delivered yorkers with perfection to bring the equation down to 10 from 2 balls. While it looked improbable for CSK, Jadeja had other ideas; he hit a six in the fifth delivery of the over before hitting the winning runs with a boundary.
Right after Jadeja’s match-winning effort, the all-rounder shared a special moment with Dhoni as the CSK skipper lifted him in joy to celebrate the team’s victory.
Following the emphatic victory, Jadeja dedicated his side’s fifth title triumph to skipper Dhoni.
“I would like to dedicate this win to M S Dhoni, a valued member of the CSK family. Winning my fifth title in front of my home crowd feels incredible. As I hail from Gujarat, this victory holds a special place in my heart,” Jadeja expressed with elation as he spoke to the official broadcasters after the match.
It’s worth mentioning that CSK’s comeback came after the horrendous IPL 2022 season, where they finished ninth in the points table 2022. Overall, a combined effort from the whole team led CSK to their fifth IPL title.
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