MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings win record-equalling fifth title in thriller over Gujarat Titans

MS Dhoni’s Super Kings have equalled the record for most IPL titles after a thrilling win over Gujarat that came down to the wire.

Ravindra Jadeja hit a six and four off the last two balls as Chennai Super Kings edged out Gujarat Titans to win a record-equalling fifth IPL title and send superstar M.S. Dhoni out with a bang in what was anticipated to be his swan song.

Chennai chased down their revised target of 171 in 15 overs with five wickets to spare in a rain-hit IPL final which went past 1.30am local time on a reserve day in Ahmedabad following a washout on Sunday.

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New Zealand’s Devon Conway led the chase with his 25-ball 47 before cameos from Ajinkya Rahane (27) and Shivam Dube, who hit an unbeaten 32, set the stage for Ravindra Jadeja’s heroics.

Needing 13 off the final over, Mohit Sharma bowled four good balls, leaving Chennai needing 10 off two deliveries.

Missing his length in an attempted yorker, Sharma delivered a ball perfectly in the arc for Jadeja to launch over long-on for six.

Needing four to win off the last ball, Sharma’s error in length compounded with a low, straight full toss at Jadeja’s pads, clipped away past short fine leg for a boundary that would send the Narendra Modi Stadium into meltdown, and bring Chennai their fifth title to go level with Mumbai Indians.

Ravindra Jadeja whacked the final runs. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP)

The match was anticipated to be Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s last of his glittering career as the 41-year-old kept attracting huge crowds across venues this season and over 80,000 fans cheered the veteran in the final.

Such is Dhoni’s celebrity, Chennai crowds even cheered their own wickets throughout the season, hoping for a chance to see the legend in action.

Playing his 250th IPL match, Dhoni got out for a first-ball duck as he went back to a stunned silence, but he had the last laugh in his 10th appearance in the final as Chennai captain.

Rain forced players off the ground when Chennai were four without loss after three balls of their innings.

The downpour lasted for about 15 minutes but covers came off from one of the pitches which got damp and the ground staff worked for over two hours to get the field ready for play.

Sai Sudharsan smashed 96 off 47 balls to guide Gujarat, a team which won the crown in their debut season last year in the T20 competition and topped the table in this edition, to 214-4.

In-form Gujarat opener Shubman Gill hit a 20-ball 39.

Gill, fresh from his third century this season in the last playoff and who leads the batting chart with 890 runs, was dropped on three when Deepak Chahar spilled an easy catch off fast bowler Tushar Deshpande.

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜! 🤩

Celebrations all around in Chennai Super Kings' camp!

#TATAIPL | #CSKvGT | #Final | @ChennaiIPLpic.twitter.com/81wQQuWvDJ

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 29, 2023

The opener smashed Deshpande for three straight boundaries in the next over and kept up the attack with regular hits to the fence before Dhoni’s lightning quick glovework sent back the batsman, stumped off Jadeja.

Fellow opener Wriddhiman Saha made 54 and put on 64 runs with Sudharsan, who took charge after his partner’s departure.

Speaking after the match, Dhoni put pause on questions of retirement, saying he needed to give Chennai fans the “gift” of one more season.

“The easy thing for me to say is thank you and retire,” Dhoni said.

“But the hard thing to do is to work hard for nine months and try to play one more IPL season.

“The body has to hold up. But the amount of love I have received from CSK fans, it would be a gift for them to play one more season.

“The way they’ve shown their love and emotion, it’s something I need to do for them. It’s the last part of my career.

“It started over here and the full house was chanting my name. It was my same thing in Chennai, but it will be good to come back and play whatever I can.”

Gujarat captain Hardik Pandya called it “destiny” that Dhoni would win yet another title.

“I’m very happy for him,” Pandya said.

“Destiny had this written for him. If I had to lose, I don’t mind losing to him. Good things happen to good people.”

Broadcaster Alison Mitchell called it a “gripping climax.”

“How Jadeja managed that I do not know,” she said on Twitter.

“Mohit Sharma had done brilliantly. Wow.”

Mitchell also noted that the win for Chennai gave batter Ambati Rayudu a record-equalling sixth IPL title, level with Mumbai’s Rohit Sharma.

The Telegraph’s Will Macpherson called Jadeja “ridiculous”.

“Ravi Jadeja is a ridiculous cricketer. So good is so many ways,” he said.