Agencies
Ahmedabad
Chennai Super Kings staged a remarkable chase to beat Gujarat Titans by five wickets and win the Indian Premier League for a fifth time at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Monday.
Ravindra Jadeja hit a six and a four off the last two balls to achieve the incredible win.
Sai Sudharsan’s 96 had helped put the Titans in a commanding position as they finished their innings on 214-4.
Rain led to a lengthy delay before the Super Kings’ innings was reduced to 15 overs.
That meant they needed 171 to win, which they achieved on the final ball to settle a thrilling encounter.
A fifty partnership by Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad and cameos from Shivam Dube, Jadeja helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeat Gujarat Titans (GT).
A rock-solid partnership between Conway-Ruturaj had helped set foundation for a successful run-chase, but a game-changing spell from Mohit Sharma threatened to take away the win from CSK. However, Dube and Jadeja kept calm to seal a memorable title win for the Men in Yellow. The match resumed as a 15-over affair after rain interrupted action for a while.
CSK was set a new target of 171 runs to win in 15 overs.
Openers Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad seemed to be unfazed by anything as they provided a quick start to four-time champions. At the end of 4 overs of the powerplay under revised conditions, CSK was at 52/0, with Conway (27*) and Gaikwad (23*) unbeaten.
Noor Ahmed’s spin gave Gujarat the much-needed breakthrough in the seventh over, dismissing Gaikwad for 26 off 16 balls, consisting of three fours and a six. CSK was 74/1 in 6.3 overs after Rashid Khan’s catch at backward point ended Gaikwad’s innings.
Shivam Dube was next up. Noor took another wicket in this over to send back Conway for 47 off 25 balls, consisting of four boundaries and two sixes. Mohit Sharma took the catch to dismiss the in-form opener. CSK was 78/2 in seven overs.
However, in the next over, Ajinkya Rahane pulled some momentum in favour of CSK with two sixes, with Joshua Little smashed for 16 runs.
CSK touched the 100-run mark in 9.1 overs.
At the end of 10 overs, CSK was at 112/2, with Dube (8*) and Rahane (26*) unbeaten at the crease. CSK needed 59 runs in the final five overs.
Rahane and Dube seemed to be building a solid partnership, but their 39-run stand was broken by Mohit Sharma, who dismissed Rahane for 27 off 13 balls, consisting of two fours and two sixes. CSK were 117/3 in 10.5 overs.
CSK was struggling with the rising required run rate but Shivam Dube smashed two successive sixes on Rashid Khan’s deliveries in the 12th over to bring down the deficit to 38 runs in the final three overs.
Rayadu, playing his last IPL game, joined the party in the next over, accumulating 16 runs in just three balls with a four and two sixes, bringing down the deficit to 22 in 15 balls. But the bowler Mohit got his last laugh as he dismissed Rayadu for 19 off eight balls. CSK were 149/4 in 12.4 overs.
MS Dhoni was next up and was dismissed for a first-ball duck by Mohit.
CSK needed 21 in 12 balls.
The penultimate over by Mohammed Shami gave away eight runs. CSK needed 13 runs in the final over.
Mohit Sharma could not defend 13 runs in the final over as Ravindra Jadeja hit the four on the final ball. CSK won the match by five wickets.
Mohit was the pick of the bowlers for GT, taking 3/36 in his four overs. Noor Ahmed (2/17) was also impressive.
Earlier, Sai Sudharsan’s sensational knock of 96 and Wriddhiman Saha’s fine fifty propelled Gujarat Titans (GT) to 214/4.
Sudharsan scored the highest for Gujarat with a sensational 96 off 47 deliveries while Saha played a fine knock of 54 off 39 balls. For CSK, Matheesha Pathirana bagged two while Deepak Chahar and Ravindra Jadeja scalped one wicket each.
Scores: Gujarat Titans 214-4 (Sudharsan 96, Saha 54; Pathirana 2-44) vs Chennai Super Kings 171-5 (Target 171; Conway 47, Dube 32, Rahane 27, Rayudu 19, Jadeja 15 n.o.).
