Ahmedabad: A fifty partnership by Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad and cameos from Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeat Gujarat Titans (GT) in a final ball thriller by five wickets at Ahmedabad on Monday to clinch their fifth Indian Premier League (IPL) title.
A rock-solid partnership between Conway-Ruturaj had helped set foundation for a successful run-chase, but a game-changing spell from Mohit Sharma threatened to take away the win from CSK. However, Dube and Jadeja kept calm to seal a memorable title win for the Men in Yellow. The match resumed as a 15-over affair after rain interrupted action for a while. CSK was set a new target of 171 runs to win in 15 overs.
Openers Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad seemed to be unfazed by anything as they provided a quick start to four-time champions. At the end of 4 overs of the powerplay under revised conditions, CSK was at 52/0, with Conway (27*) and Gaikwad (23*) unbeaten. Noor Ahmed’s spin gave Gujarat the much-needed breakthrough in the seventh over, dismissing Gaikwad for 26 off 16 balls, consisting of three fours and a six. CSK was 74/1 in 6.3 overs after Rashid Khan’s catch at backward point ended Gaikwad’s innings.
Shivam Dube was next up. Noor took another wicket in this over to send back Conway for 47 off 25 balls, consisting of four boundaries and two sixes. Mohit Sharma took the catch to dismiss the in-form opener. CSK was 78/2 in seven overs. However, in the next over, Ajinkya Rahane pulled some momentum in favour of CSK with two sixes, with Joshua Little smashed for 16 runs. CSK touched the 100-run mark in 9.1 overs. At the end of 10 overs, CSK was at 112/2, with Dube (8*) and Rahane (26*) unbeaten at the crease. CSK needed 59 runs in the final five overs. Rahane and Dube seemed to be building a solid partnership, but their 39-run stand was broken by Mohit Sharma, who dismissed Rahane for 27 off 13 balls, consisting of two fours and two sixes. CSK was 117/3 in 10.5 overs.
Ambati Rayadu, playing his last IPL game was on the crease. CSK was struggling with the rising required run rate. But Shivam Dube smashed two successive sixes on Rashid Khan’s deliveries in the 12th over to bring down the deficit to 38 runs in the final three overs. Rayadu joined the party in the next over, accumulating 16 runs in just three balls with a four and two sixes, bringing down the deficit to 22 in 15 balls. But the bowler Mohit got his last laugh as he dismissed Rayadu for 19 off eight balls. CSK was 149/4 in 12.4 overs. MS Dhoni was next up on the crease. Dhoni was dismissed for a first-ball duck, Mohit got his third wicket and CSK was at 149/5 in 12.5 overs. CSK needed 21 in 12 balls. The penultimate over by Mohammed Shami gave away eight runs. CSK needed 13 runs in the final over. Mohit Sharma could not defend 13 runs in the final over as Ravindra Jadeja hit the four on the final ball. CSK won the match by five wickets. Mohit was the pick of the bowlers for GT, taking 3/36 in his four overs. Noor Ahmed (2/17) was also impressive with the ball.
Earlier, Sai Sudharsan’s sensational knock of 96 and Wriddhiman Saha’s fine fifty propelled Gujarat Titans (GT) to 214/4 against CSK in the final of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 here at Narendra Modi Stadium on Monday. Sudharsan scored the highest for Gujarat with a sensational 96 off 47 deliveries while Saha played a fine knock of 54 off 39 balls. For CSK, Matheesha Pathirana bagged two while Deepak Chahar and Ravindra Jadeja scalped one wicket each. After being put to bat first, Gujarat Titans got off to the finest start with their openers Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha slamming CSK bowlers all around the ground. The Gujarat openers rotated the strike brilliantly, not allowing the CSK bowlers to settle down while whacking the loose balls on offer.
CSK’s experienced all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja provided his team with a big breakthrough as he dismissed star batter Gill for 39 off 20 balls in the seventh over of the game. However, Saha displayed great resilience and determination as he slammed CSK bowlers at regular intervals. The left-handed batter Sai Sudharsan then came out to bat. The pair of Saha and Sudharsan took their team’s target beyond the 100-run mark, stitching up a fine partnership. Saha continued his blistering form as he brought up his half-century in 36 balls. Saha’s innings at the crease was cut short as he was sent packing by Deepak Chahar after scoring 54 runs. GT captain and right-handed batter Hardik Pandya came out to bat.
Sudharsan opened his hands and slammed Maheesh Theekshana for two big sixes in the 15th over of the game. The fantastic youngster Sudharsan slammed a sensational half-century in 33 balls and kept the scoreboard ticking for Gujarat. Sudharsan kept the momentum going for Gujarat Titans as he slammed boundaries at regular intervals. Sudharsan single-handedly hammered Tushar Deshpande for 20 runs with the help of three boundaries and one maximum in the 17th over.
Pandya and Sudharsan stitched up fifty run partnership stand in just 23 balls. Pandya and Sudharsan hammered Deshpande for 18 runs and guided their team beyond the 200-run mark. CSK bowlers did not had any answer to Sudharsan’s on slaughter as the batter kept hammering every bower all around the ground. In the last over, Sudharsan slammed two back-to-back sixes, however, he lost his wicket to Matheesha Pathirana. Sudharsan fell short of 4 runs off making his maiden IPL century. Rashid Khan then came out to bat. Pathirana then delivered superb balls and took the wicket of Rashid Khan on the last ball of the final over to restrict GT to 214/4 in 20 overs.
Brief score: Gujarat Titans 214/4 (Sai Sudharsan 96, Wriddhiman Saha 54; Matheesha Pathirana 2-44) vs Chennai Super Kings.
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