Ravindra Jadeja hits a six and four off the last two balls to snatch victory in the rain-truncated final in Ahmedabad.
Neither T20 nor T10, the IPL final reduced to a 15-over chase due to late Monday evening showers saw Chennai Super Kings winning their fifth title by five wickets in a nail-biting last-ball finish that ended at 1.30 am on Tuesday in front of a packed Ahmedabad crowd. Ravindra Jadeja got the 10 runs needed off the final two balls.
With the reduced overs, bowlers having one fewer over to bowl, batters in need of taking off at a faster pace, all the action in the powerplay was frantic. Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya didn’t find much swing, Rashid Khan not any turn. Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad lined up against the leg-spinner and zoomed to 52/0 inside the 4-over powerplay. Their quick start brought CSK’s target down to 119 in 11 overs; that’s 11-an-over with all wickets intact. An everyday chase in a T20 game. GT fought well to take the match deep.
Like Chennai Super Kings, the secret of Gujarat Titans’ success has been their continuity. But one batting spot where they have been experimenting with is at No. 3. Sai Sudharsan. The 21-year-old left-hander showed early spark but has featured in only half of GT’s games. The Tamil-Nadu batter chose the game that mattered the most, making a statement with a spectacular 96 (47b, 8×4, 6×6).
A statement to his own team, why he should have played more and to opponents CSK, his home city’s franchise, who once looked past the TNPL find after having him in their junior side.
