Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag believes only MS Dhoni could have taken Chennai Super Kings to the final. CSK qualified for their 10th IPL final under the captaincy of MS Dhoni after they defeated defending champions Gujarat Titans by 15 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Tuesday to continue their prolong consistency in the tournament.
This was the 12th time when CSK have made it to the IPL playoff and out of these 12 times, they have made it to the summit clash on 10 occasions, which is the highest for any IPL team.
Dhoni is well known to get the best out of his players and IPL 2023 has been no different. The veteran has been able to get the best out of players like Shivam Dube, Ajinkya Rahane, Matheesha Pathirana, and Tushar Deshpande.
Meanwhile, CSK posted a par score of 172 runs on the board after Hardik Pandya decided to bowl first. CSK openers – Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway – added 87 runs for the opening alliance and played a key role in laying down the foundation.
Subsequently, Ravindra Jadeja returned with impressive figures of 2-18 in his quota of four overs. Furthermore, Maheesh Theekshana had figures of 2-28 in his four overs for CSK to help his team skittle out GT at 157.
“Chennai Superkings. What a wonderful team. Leadership is about getting the best out of your resources and with the bowling line up Chennai had, only MS Dhoni could have taken them into the finals. That is why he is who he is and receives the love that he does,” Sehwag posted on his Instagram account.
On the other hand, CSK fast bowler Deepak Chahar had to stretch while taking Mohammed Shami’s catch. Chahar was seen hobbling a bit but confirmed he is fine after the team’s win.
Chahar said, “Everything’s okay, one more to go. I think the length, we saw them bowling, it was sticking and we decided to bowl a full length, didn’t experiment too much, let them (the batters) take the risks. Chasing 170 in a semi-final with the crowd against you is difficult. I have played in playoffs before, I just told them about the pressure (when asked about what he told the juniors), I just asked them to confident about their skills, just one ball or catch is very important at this stage.”
Chahar also bowled a crucial spell of 2-29 for CSK in the all-important fixture. Chennai Super Kings will play their 10th IPL final on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
