It was a happy evening for the fans in Chepauk as they saw MS Dhoni once again marshall the troops in yellow expertly to their 10th final in 14 attempts in the Indian Premier League on Tuesday.
Ravindra Jadeja starred with bat and ball as Chennai Super Kings beat holders Gujarat Titans by 15 runs.
The left-handed Jadeja returned figures of 2-18 with his spin bowling following his 22 runs, which boosted the Chennai total after Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 60 on an awkward pitch for batting.
Four-time winners CSK posted 172-7, a total their bowlers defended as they defeated the defending champions by 15 runs. Chase-masters on any other day, Gujarat Titans succumbed for 157 in 20 overs while chasing the target on a slow track.
CSK in IPL over the years
Season | League stage finish | Playoff result |
---|---|---|
IPL 2008 | 3rd | Lost in the final |
IPL 2009 | 2nd | Lost in the semi-final |
IPL 2010 | 3rd | Champions |
IPL 2011 | 2nd out of 10 | Champions |
IPL 2012 | 4th out of 9 | Lost in the final |
IPL 2013 | 1st out of 9 | Lost in the final |
IPL 2014 | 3rd | Won in Eliminator, Lost in Qualifier 2 |
IPL 2015 | 1st | Runners-up |
IPL 2016 | Suspended | |
IPL 2017 | Suspended | |
IPL 2018 | 2nd | Champions |
IPL 2019 | 2nd | Lost in the final |
IPL 2020 | 7th | –– |
IPL 2021 | 2nd | Champions |
IPL 2022 | 9th out of 10 | |
IPL 2023 | 2nd out of 10 | Reached final |
Dhoni put up yet another captaincy masterclass, utilising his resources like only he can. Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Mateesha Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana all picked up two wickets apiece. The former India captain brought in the squeeze through his spinners in the middle overs, moved the field around expertly, and had enough cushion in the end to close out the match.
Earlier, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway had stitched an 87-run opening partnership and that proved to be the period that allowed the most fluent period of stroke-making. During the chase, Rashid Khan gave a scare, scoring 30 off 16, before he was dismissed by Tushar Deshpande in the nineteenth over.
Gujarat will have another shot at making the final, which is on May 28 in Ahmedabad, when they take on the winner of the second play-off between Lucknow Super Giants and five-time champions Mumbai Indians.
Here’s a look at the reactions:
𝘿𝙊 𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝙈𝙄𝙎𝙎!
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 23, 2023
🎥 Join the Chennai Super Kings as they celebrate a spectacular win and become the first finalists of #TATAIPL 2023 🙌#TATAIPL | #Qualifier1 | #GTvCSK | @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/ZLPIY2gEEu
#IPL2023
— The Field (@thefield_in) May 23, 2023
2008: 🥈
2010: 🏆
2011: 🏆
2012: 🥈
2013: 🥈
2015: 🥈
2018: 🏆
2019: 🥈
2021: 🏆
2023: Finalists again
10th final ✅https://t.co/qxdEGCgswM pic.twitter.com/3e5z1N9YXH
Captains to lead to most IPL finals:
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) May 23, 2023
10 - DHONI
5 - Rohit
2 - Gambhir
1 - Warne, Gilchrist, Kumble, Tendulkar, Vettori, Bailey, Kohli, Warner, S Smith, Williamson, Iyer, Morgan, H Pandya, Samson#IPL2023 #CSKvGT
👀 Dhoni moved a fielder to the off-side a ball prior to Hardik getting dismissed! #GTvCSK #TATAIPL #Qualifier1 #IPLonJioCinema pic.twitter.com/oJow2Vp2rj
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) May 23, 2023
CSK may be 1 of the most successful franchises in IPL history BUT last season they finished 9th! 9th!
— Natalie Germanos 🏏 (@NatalieGermanos) May 23, 2023
Cue the Dhoni magic
This year they are the 1st team to reach the final #IPL2O23
What a leader & what an incredible franchise
Players from CSK can only come out better players
Wow.. Dhoni’s CSK in the finals again
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) May 23, 2023
MA Chidambaram to Narendra Modi Stadium ✈️ #GTvCSK
— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) May 23, 2023
It ain't over yet. MS Dhoni is not done. The love story goes on. The celebrations must go on in Chennai. We will have him standing in this position at Ahmedabad and hopefully next year. 💛💛💛💛💛🔥🔥🔥 #CSKvsGT #IPL2023 #MSDhoni𓃵 pic.twitter.com/IYjshsvbOC
— Ridhima Pathak (@PathakRidhima) May 23, 2023
They like to wait in the finals. One more title shot for @ChennaiIPL 👏
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 23, 2023
Interesting to see Dhoni trying to get his players to take a deep breath 😮💨to relax and not get too tense. Why he is one of the best in pressure situations #CSKvsGT All of a sudden after that 2 wickets in 2 balls
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) May 23, 2023
10 finals, phew!! But one constant. ❤ pic.twitter.com/Nv8x8dd2GL
— Ritwika Dhar (@RituD307) May 23, 2023
How can he stay so emotionless? I’m sure he knows he isn’t going to play here again but still keeps such a straight face .. uff!
— Arjun Dev (@arjun19dev) May 23, 2023
"He carried the burden of the nation for 19 years. It's time we carried him on our shoulders" coming soon..... pic.twitter.com/T09wtp81kw
— Manya (@CSKian716) May 23, 2023
Dhoni lead CSK to the final in 2008.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 23, 2023
Dhoni leading CSK in the final in 2023.
The longevity of the great man. pic.twitter.com/QzY3IcPXF7
Congratulations Yellow Army on another final. 10 in 16 years, MS Dhoni is an unbelievable leader. Tushar, Patirana and so many other youngsters … to extract performances from them game after game, is just an MS thing. Come on CSK, do this for MS. It will give india a lot joy.
— Danish Sait (@DanishSait) May 23, 2023
Phir khela 🧠 se pic.twitter.com/cEFL0z8UCC
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) May 23, 2023
Ahmedabad walo ….Dhoni is coming 💛💛💫💫 @ChennaiIPL is into their 10th #IPL Final in the history ! MSD -the greatest T20 captain 🐐! Dhoni supremacy 💛🫶 ! Well done #CSK @msdhoni #CSKvsGT #MSDhoni𓃵 pic.twitter.com/fKFNNskbKC
— Reema Malhotra (@ReemaMalhotra8) May 23, 2023
CSK, what a franchise! 🙌
— Rohit Sankar (@imRohit_SN) May 23, 2023
Ridiculous success rate. To play 10 finals out of 14 is INSANE in a league that is as competitive as the IPL.#GTvCSK #IPL2023
He’s playing pretty much on one leg. Ices the left knee game after game, is hardly the sprinter between the wickets we’ve known him to be. Lost many a bowler to injuries. And yet manages to lead CSK to yet another IPL final. What is this MS Dhoni made of? #IPL2023 #GTvCSK
— S. Sudarshanan (@Sudarshanan7) May 23, 2023
10 - After beating Gujarat Titans by 15 runs, @ChennaiIPL have now qualified for their 10th #IPLFinal, the outright most by any team and four more than the next best (@mipaltan - 6); CSK have reached the final in four out of the last six @IPL seasons. Supremacy.#GTvCSK #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/l4SdFqvFMz
— OptaJeev (@OptaJeev) May 23, 2023
"I have 8-9 months to decide. Why take that headache now. I'll always be there for CSK, where it's playing or something outside" - #THALA #GTvCSK #WhistlePodu #Yellove 🦁💛
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 23, 2023
Fireworks lit up the sky as Chennai made their 10th Indian Premier League final.
“IPL is too big to say it’s just another final,” the captain said on presenter Harsha Bhogle’s question on the Sunday final being “just another final” for Dhoni’s team.
“Used to be top eight teams to compete with the best players available in the world, but now it’s 10 teams, so now it’s tougher. It’s hard work of two months because of which we are standing over here. Lot of character showed by the individuals.”
Dhoni also stalled suggestions that he was about to retire, saying he will take “eight, nine months” to decide on his IPL future.
“The small auction will be around December, so why to take the headache right now. I have ample time to decide,” he said.
The spotlight remained on Dhoni, who is India’s most decorated player, leading his country to two World Cup triumphs including the inaugural T20 crown in 2007 and has played mentor to younger heroes including Virat Kohli.
Dhoni has attracted huge crowds across venues with fans turning up in Chennai’s yellow as a tribute to the cricketing great.
His home venue was nearly packed to capacity as fans cheered every move of their hero, who raised the noise when he came into bat.
But the crowd soon fell silent as the superstar, who has been troubled with a knee injury in this season but has not explicitly said he is retiring, fell to Mohit Sharma for one off two balls.
Earlier Gaikwad registered his fourth half-century of the season as he capitalised on a reprieve on two when he was dismissed in the second over only for the delivery to called no-ball.
He hit back with a six and four and soon converted Chennai’s modest start to a strong opening stand of 87 with New Zealand’s Devon Conway, who made 40.
Chennai wobbled after Gaikwad’s departure but Jadeja’s 16-ball cameo, which included two sixes, and one hit over the fence by England’s Moeen Ali in the final over fired Chennai to what turned out to be a winning total.
Gaikwad was named player of the match for his 44-ball knock and a good diving catch in the deep.
Shubman Gill attempted to drive Gujarat’s chase with his 42 but the rest of the batting faltered.
“We were quite spot on but we made some basic errors. I felt were were exactly 15 runs short,” said Gujarat skipper Pandya.
Fast bowler Deepak Chahar, who took down Gill, and the Sri Lankan duo of Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana also took two wickets each.
Rashid Khan attempted to pull a rabbit out of the hat with his 16-ball 30 but fell in the 19th over and Pathirana sealed the deal on the final ball.
With AFP inputs