IPL 2023 Final: MS Dhoni's CSK beat defenders GT on last ball of rain-marred contest to win fifth title

After a washout on Sunday (May 28), the IPL 2023 final kicked off on the reserve day on Monday evening (May 29) in Ahmedabad. With rain predicted for sometime in the latter stage, MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won the toss and opted to bowl first versus defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT). The home side rode on in-form Shubman Gill's 20-ball 39, Wriddhiman Saha's 54 (39), and Sai Sudharsan's breathtaking 47-ball 96 to post 214/4. In reply, CSK got a revised target of 171 in 15 overs and won it on the last ball with five wickets in hand.

The game started with two tight overs from Deepak Chahar and Tushar Deshpande before Gill and Saha took their chances. Gill was dropped off Tushar, by Chahar, and the in-form youngster made the most of his chances with some sublime strokes whereas Saha quietly upped the ante while the duo also ran hard between wickets. Against the run of play, Gill was stumped courtesy of MS Dhoni's brilliance but GT were off to a flier, being 67 for 1 in 7 overs.

Sudarshan came in at No. 3 and rotated strike as Saha continued to score runs before falling for a 39-ball 54. The left-hander took over from thereon and smashed every bowler in the death overs with some superb shots along with some innovation from time to time. The uncapped Indian batter returned with a 47-ball 96 along with Hardik ending with a 12-ball 21*.

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Also Read: From 2008 to 2022: Player of the Match awardees in 15 IPL finals, Player of the Tournament winners

Revised target: 171 off 15 overs

CSK's run-chase started with Ruturaj Gaikwad's well-timed cover drive before rain played its presence felt. After a lengthy delay due to rain and wet outfield, the match resumed at 12:10 AM IST with a revised target; 171 in 15-over contest.Both Ruturaj and Devon Conway started off on a positive note, slamming the pacers while also attacking Rashid Khan in his first over.

Ruturaj fell for a 16-ball 26 before Conway followed suit (for a 25-ball 47) but struck some flawless boundaries prior to his fall. Noor Ahmad (2 for 17 in threeovers) removed both the openers but Ajinkya Rahane announced his arrival with two sublime sixes.

The chase was on. While Dube struggled, Rahane got the boundaries to keep a check on the required run rate. His cameo, 13-ball 27, ended with Mohit Sharma outfoxing him with CSK in need of 54 off 25 balls. With Dube not connecting it well, he finally got going with two big sixes off Rashid and managed to keep CSK alive.

Rayudu, playing his last IPL match, attacked Mohit from the word go. Bringing the equation down to 22 off 14, Rayudu (8-ball 19) fell caught and bowled with Dhoni coming out to bat.He fell for a first-ball duck as Mohit's twin strikes dented CSK in the 13th over.

Eventually, CSK needed 13 off 6 and Mohit made it 10 off two for them before Jadeja struck a six and four to take his side to an emphatic five-wicket win (DLS method) on the last ball. Thus, the Yellow Army ended the season on top and alsocame at par with MI in terms of most IPL titles (five).

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