There are many ‘scripted’ memes for this much-talked-about tournament, but the 2023 edition of the Tata IPL has given us many nail-biting finishes and a final totally out of the script and syllabus.
It was MS Dhoni and co that came up trumps in the final with 10 runs required and just two balls of a Mohit Sharma death over to go.
Sharma, who has given standout performances in the bowling department for Gujarat Titans, who easily had the best bowling unit all season, bowled four beauties in the 15th over, the last over, after rain disrupted play again on Monday making the IPL final the first three-day affair.
The fans seemed quite unperturbed, as the action went to the wire till the wee hours of Tuesday and they got their money’s worth after camping out at train stations after Sunday’s washout.
CSK needed 171 runs in 15 overs, after play was truncated and the outfield was dried for a couple of hours. Sai Sudarshan shone for the Titans with a brilliant 96 and some good hitting, after Saha (54) and Gill first set the momentum to take the Titans to 214/4.
The rain gods then showed some mercy and CSK’s opening pair carried on with the chase as if nothing had happened. Devon Conway was finding the middle of the bat much more than partner Ruturaj Gaikwad, who also played some great shots to put CSK in a commanding position at an average of just under 11 an over.
The duo put on 74 runs in just 39 balls before both headed back, for Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube to take it forward. Rahane enthralled with a brilliant cameo of classic cricketing shots while Dube took some time to find his timing which built some pressure for CSK.
After a couple of brilliant overs by Noor Ahmed, Dube found his rhythm and dispatched the Titans’ talisman over the ropes to take some pressure off and bring CSK back into the chase.
With 38 needed from three overs, in walked Ambati Rayudu, turning out for the last time in the IPL. Mohit Sharma was brought into the attack to turn the screws on with his slower ones and stem the runs and it took someone of Rayudu’s calibre to hit easily one of the most difficult shots in cricket, a backfoot six over cover to really take things to the death.
Sharma got Rayudu next ball in a soft caught-and-bowled that was anti-climactic for the flamboyant batter’s curtain call, but decibel levels were already rising among the 75000-plus Ahmedabad crowd/
MS Dhoni walked in…and then walked right out as Sharma got him caught at cover.
Then came Ravindra Jadeja, who many were speculating of having some issues with his team management, especially with his cryptic tweets after a league game which suggested there might have been a rift with Dhoni or the CSK crowd who kept cheering for the captain even while Jadeja made the efforts with the bat.
It was on Jadeja to take them home, as he took a single to settle in.
Mohammed Shami conceded just eight runs in the penultimate over, leaving Mohit to defend 13 and it looked like the Gujarat Titans were going to defend the IPL crown.
Sharma bowled those first four deliveries leaving CSK with a task of 10 in 2. Just when the 34-year-old former CSK pacer appeared to be getting the job done, he had a sip of water and a short chat with captain Hardik Pandya, which many thought was the game.
Sharma bowled an ordinary one which Jadeja hoicked straight over his head and over the ropes.
4 in 1 needed.
Sharma strayed down the leg side for the final ball of the match, which Jadeja glanced to fine leg and he didn’t even glance back to check whether the ball had crossed the ropes.
He just knew, they just knew and we all just knew.
CSK were champions for the fifth time.
‘I can smile for the rest of my life,” Rayudu said, wiping tears in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. ‘”‘All the hard work for the last 30 years. I’m just happy that it finished on this night.’
The old guard of Jadeja and Dhoni were in the thick of things earlier too.
He had earlier dismissed red-hot Shubman Gill with the help of a lightning quick stumping by Dhoni, to give CSK an early breakthrough. That easily saved the Super Kings some runs.
Dhoni couldn’t hold back his emotions. Jadeja sprinted across as soon as he made contact, knowing they had won. He didn’t even bother looking behind. They were all trying to catch him. Everyone was running in circles. It was delirium.
In the end, CSK painted a symbolic image of an injury-plagued season with Dhoni, knee in a brace and lifting Jadeja in one motion, defining the moment of the final.
‘This is the best time to announce my retirement,’ the skipper said in the post-match talk.
Will he though? Likely not.
He said he’d give it a few more months because of ‘the amount of love and affection I have been shown wherever I have been this year.’
Dhoni said he’d likely come back and play at least one more season of the IPL as a ‘gift’ to the fans.
‘The way they’ve shown their love and affection, I think that’s something I need to do for them,’ he said.
‘We did it for ONE and ONLY MS DHONI. mahi bhai aapke liye toh kuch bhi ’ tweeted Jadeja.