Gaikwad and Jadeja lead CSK to victory on their home turf
CHENNAI: Chennai Super Kings defeated Gujarat Titans, chasing 173 runs to win, due to the guile and skill of the Super Kings’ players who understand their home ground well. This win advances CSK to their 10th IPL final, most likely MS Dhoni’s last match at this ground.
When Dhoni failed to recreate his old magic with the bat leading to disappointment, it dissipated by the end of the game. Dhoni was beaming, and all the thousands at the galleries knew that their celebration had just begun.
Gujarat Titans struggled to match the skills and quality of Chennai Super Kings as Titans had to contend with Ravindra Jadeja’s unplayable spin. Even Shubman Gill, who scored 42 off 38 balls, struggled on a track where the ball was spinning. David Miller and Dasun Shanaka tried for risky shots, which gave their wickets away, shifting the balance in CSK’s favor.
Gill followed soon, mistiming a pull off Chahar, and it seemed all but over. An almighty onslaught towards the end by Rashid Khan with some unorthodox hitting did not save the game as Titans had lost too many wickets by then. When Rashid finally got out after a brilliant 30 off 16 balls in the 19th over, the CSK fans knew it was time to celebrate.
While the CSK bowlers were brilliant, there was a stroke of luck early on when they were batting that proved crucial when opener Ruturaj Gaikwad was on two when he lobbed one to Shubman Gill off medium-pacer Darshan Nalkande. It would have been a crucial blow, but Nalkande overstepped, giving Gaikwad a fresh lease of life.
The crowd erupted in joy as Ruturaj knew it could be his day. The very next ball went for a six, and the shots flowed from his bat in the Powerplay. Gujarat Titans were suddenly in a tight corner; Devon Conway gave Ruturaj good company, looking for the gaps, and CSK had comfortably gone past the 50-mark in the first six overs. They put up 87 off 10.3 overs, which was huge on a pitch like this.
Veteran medium-pacer Mohit Sharma, who had spent his best days with CSK, used the sluggish nature of the pitch to force a false shot off Ruturaj (60 off 44 balls) to bring GT back in the game. For a while, CSK seemed to be caught in the headlights, but the team had the batting depth.
Even after Dhoni got out, falling to Mohit’s slower ball, Jadeja (22 off 16 balls) and Moeen Ali provided the final flourish that took CSK past the 170-mark. By the end of the day, it proved more than enough for the yellow brigade.
Watch IPL: Chennai Super Kings enter 10th final with 15-run win over Gujarat Titans