Chasing a revised target of 171 in 15 overs, Chennai Super Kings beat Gujarat Titans by five wickets in thrilling early-morning scenes in Ahmedabad as Ravindra Jadeja hit Mohit Sharma for a six and a four off the last two balls.
22:10, UK, Monday 29 May 2023
Chennai Super Kings clinched their fifth Indian Premier League title in dramatic fashion after Ravindra Jadeja’s last-ball thrashing of defending champions Gujarat Titans by 5 wickets.
In a tense early morning in Ahmedabad, Jadeja hit a six and four off Mohit Sharma off the last two balls as Chennai chased down a revised target of 171 in 15 overs.
Monday’s reserve day was delayed by two-and-a-half hours after rain washed out the day’s play originally scheduled for Sunday’s final.
Earlier, Gujarat posted 214-4 in 20 overs after number three batsman Sai Sudarshan capitalized on a strong start to score 96 off 47 balls with 6 sixes.
In a run-chase interrupted three balls after the return of rain, Chennai kept the drama alive, with Jadeja Duckworth slamming the last ball before the boundary for a six under Lewis Stern’s system to seal victory.
The final was originally scheduled for Sunday, but incessant rain forced organizers to move the match to its reserve day.
After Chennai captain MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to field, Shubman Gill came out to bat after scoring three hundreds in his last four innings.
When he was bowled by Deepak Chahar for three runs, the tournament’s top scorer also seemed to be out of luck.
Gill escaped a run-out chance when Jadeja failed to collect the ball properly before breaking the stumps, though the left-arm spinner made amends in the same over.
Jadeja got Gill (39) out of the crease and Dhoni proved his reflexes weren’t dull as the 41-year-old bailed out in a flash.
Chahar took a return catch from Wriddhiman Saha, who blasted 54 before Dhoni was collected on the top edge.
Sudarshan then tore through Chennai’s attack, hitting Madisha Pathirana for successive sixes in the final over of the innings, closing in on a century.
Pathrana denied him the milestone but Gujarat could not deny the 200-plus total.
Chennai’s openers faced three balls before rain forced them off the field and halted play for two hours and 20 minutes.
Chasing a revised target, Ruduraj Gaekwad (26) and Devon Conway (47) put on 72 in the first 6 overs before Noor Ahmed dismissed both in the seventh over.
Shivam Dubey scored an unbeaten 32 to keep Chennai in the race but Mohit Sharma dismissed Ambati Rayudu and Dhoni in successive balls to inject new drama into the match.
Chennai needed 13 runs off the last over from Mohit, who conceded three runs off his first four balls.
With 10 runs needed in the last two overs, Jadeja hit Mohit’s head for a six and followed it up with a boundary to ensure a thrilling victory.
„I tried to swing hard because every ball was important,” Jadeja said of the dramatic last over.
„I knew anything could happen, so I just tried to swing hard and hit straight.”
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