The IPL 2023 final began on the reserve day on Monday evening (May 29) in Ahmedabad following a washout on Sunday (May 28). The MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won the toss and decided to bowl first against the defending champion Gujarat Titans (GT) even though rain was expected at some point in the latter stages. Shubman Gill’s in-form 20-ball 39, Wriddhiman Saha’s 54 (39), and Sai Sudharsan’s magnificent 47-ball 96 helped the home team achieve 214/4. With five wickets in hand and a revised goal of 171 to chase, CSK triumphed on the final ball.
Deepak Chahar and Tushar Deshpande made two tight overs to start the game before Gill and Saha got their opportunities. When Chahar dropped Gill off Tushar, the in-form teenager made the most of his opportunities with some exquisite strokes, while Saha subtly increased the stakes and the pair also raced hard between wickets. Gill was stumped against the flow of play thanks to MS Dhoni’s genius, but GT were off to a flying start, scoring 67 for 1 in 7 overs.
Saha continued to score runs when Sudharsan entered at No. 3 and rotated strikes till falling for 54 off 39 balls. From that point on, the left-hander seized charge and destroyed every bowler in the final overs with some fantastic strokes and the occasional stroke of ingenuity. The uncapped Indian batsman finished with a 47-ball 96 and a 12-ball 21*, while Hardik also finished.
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Revised target:
171 off 15 overs Ruturaj Gaikwad’s well-timed cover drive got CSK’s run chase underway before rain began to fall. The game started at 12:10 AM IST with a revised aim of 170 in a 15-over battle following a protracted delay brought on by rain and a damp outfield. Ruturaj and Devon Conway got things going well by hitting the pacers hard and going after Rashid Khan in his first over.
Conway followed Ruturaj in falling for a 25-ball 47 after hitting some perfect boundaries before falling for a 16-ball 26. Both of the openers were dismissed by Noor Ahmad (2 for 17 in three overs), and Ajinkya Rahane then made his entrance with two magnificent sixes.
The pursuit had begun. Rahane secured the boundaries to control the necessary run rate as Dube laboured. When CSK needed 54 off of 25 balls, Mohit Sharma outsmarted him during his brief cameo, which lasted 13 balls. Due to Dube’s poor hitting, Rashid gave him two massive sixes before he finally got going and kept CSK in the run-chase.
Following that, Rayudu faced Mohit in his final IPL match. When Dhoni came out to bat, the situation was reduced to 22 off 14 after Rayudu (8-ball 19) fell caught and bowled. He was out after the opening ball as Mohit’s two strikes gave GT the lead.
When CSK finally needed to win by five wickets (DLS method), they needed 13 off of 6, and Mohit made it 10 off of two for them before Jadeja smacked a six and a four. Thus, the Yellow Army finished the season in first place and tied MI for the most IPL championships with five.
