MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings have become the first team to enter the IPL 2023 final, after beating defending champions Gujarat Titans by 15 runs in Qualifier 1 at the Chepauk on Tuesday night.
Batting first, Ruturaj Gaikwad's half-century (60 off 44) and Devon Conway's 40 off 34 helped Chennai post 172/7, with Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma both picking two wickets each.
In reply, Shubman Gill once again emerged as the top-scorer for Gujarat but CSK managed to get him out on 42 as the chase never really took off. Rashid Khan's 30-run cameo did give the team a glimmer of hope but CSK bowlers were at their best on the night and bowled out the Titans for 157 in 20 overs.
The defending champions though are not knocked out of the tournament. They will play the winner of Wednesday night's Eliminator between Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians, on Friday in Ahmedabad, for the second spot in the final.
Pandya Won Toss, Put CSK in to Bat First
Chennai had a steady yet dramatic start to their innings as Ruturaj Gaikwad got caught at mid-wicket in the second over but was lucky to survive that as Darshan Nalkande overstepped and the hooter went up. He then smoked the next ball over long-on for a six on a free hit and hit a boundary on the following delivery.
With some cracking shots from Gaikwad and Devon Conway, CSK reached 49 for no loss at the end of the Power-play.
The opening duo continued with the momentum as they kept rotating the strike to keep the scoreboard moving. Gaikwad slapped it at deep backward point for a boundary and completed his fifty off 36 balls as CSK reached 85 for no loss at the halfway mark.
When the Titans were looking for a breakthrough, Mohit Sharma struck gold for Gujarat the next over and sent Gaikwad back. The batter looked to pull it but didn't get the distance nor the elevation as David Miller from long-on ran in and took a catch to end the 87-run opening stand.
Six balls later, Noor Ahmad cleaned up Shivam Dube as Chennai lost wickets in quick succession and saw a slump in the run rate they went boundary-less in the last 29 balls.
In the 15th over, Conway broke the shackles as he got an outside edge and got a four. Then, Ajinkya Rahane whipped one over deep mid-wicket for a six but fell on the next ball.
Piling further miseries, Mohd Shami came back on and picked up a wicket right away, dismissing set batter Conway for 40 as the hosts were reduced to 131/4 in 16 overs.
GT were keeping the Chennai batters at bay with their economical bowling and fine fielding efforts. Ambati Rayudu used the depth of the crease and pulled it a long way over the mid-wicket fence for a maximum before falling on the last ball of the 18th over.
MS Dhoni came on to bat to a huge roar from the Chennai crowd. Ravindra Jadeja lofted it over the cover for a boundary on the fourth ball of the penultimate over. The next delivery there was a deafening silence inside the ground as Dhoni walked back to the hut.
Jadeja started the last over with a four against Shami. A delivery later, Moeen Ali dispatched it over deep mid-wicket for a maximum. Shami bowled a high full-toss well above the waist and the umpire signalled a no-ball straightaway. Jadeja hit hard across the line to deep midwicket on a free hit and got a single. Shami bounced back on the penultimate ball as he removed Jadeja on the last ball as CSK posted 172/7 in 20 overs.
Gujarat's Chase
Chasing 173, the Titans had a shaky start, losing two wickets in the Power-play. Deepak Chahar drew the first blood by dismissing Wriddhiman Saha. Then Maheesh Theekshana struck in the sixth over and got the big wicket of skipper Hardik Pandya. Shubman Gill's couple of lovely shots took GT to 41 for the loss of two wickets at the end of Power-Play.
The spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Theekshana kept things tight in the next three overs before Shanaka hit a back-to-back boundary and a maximum in the 10th over, taking GT to 72/2.
In the next over, Jadeja removed Dasun Shanaka, who looked to reverse sweep over the point fielder but didn't get it off the middle of the bat. Theekshana at short third man moved to his right and took a fine catch.
After Matheesha Pathirana's 10-ball over, Jadeja struck again in the 13th over and cleaned up David Miller, finishing his spell with 2-18. In the next over, Deepak Chahar got the big fish Gill for 42, making the chase tougher as Titans were reduced GT to 88/5 and the asking run rate was over 12 runs per over.
Theekshana bowled the carrom ball and Rahul Tewatia was caught flat-footed deep inside the crease and was unable to tuck it away. The ball beat the bat and crashed into the stumps and, Gujarat lost their sixth wicket and 71 was needed in the next 30 balls.
Then, Rashid Khan and Vijay Shankar went for a few big hits and collected 19 runs in the 17th over to shift some momentum. But momentum again turned in CSK's favour with two successive wickets. First Pathirana dismissed Shankar on the third ball of the 18th over, then Subhranshu Senapati's direct hit sent Darshan Nalkande back to the hut.
With 35 needing in 12 balls, Rashid Khan smashed a boundary on the first ball of the penultimate over but, a moment later, Tushar Deshpande dismissed GT's only hope, Rashid.
When 27 needed off 6, Pathirana conceded a boundary and picked up a wicket of Shami as GT was bowled out for 157 and CSK walked away with a 15 run victory.
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