Chennai Super Kings batting coach Mike Hussey heaped praise on the veteran batter Ambati Rayudu for his performance in CSK’s victory against Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL ) 2023 on Monday. Rayudu went on the back foot to send the ball flying into the stands with his raw strength in the 13th over of the game. From that point, CSK made their way back into the game and clinched their fifth IPL title. “Some of those shots from Rayudu, I don’t think many in the world can hit shots to slower balls like that,” Hussey said after the match. He also lauded Dhoni’s ability to take off pressure from players.
“He’s an amazing human being, the biggest strength is taking the pressure off the young guys. You saw a good example of that in the qualifier with Senapati, He told him to calm down and he got us that big run-out. Tactically very smart, and he and Stephen complement each other very well. That’s the benefit of experience, they are so cool and calm,” Hussey said.
A 67-run stand between Shubman Gill (39 in 20 balls) and Wriddhiman Saha provided GT with a solid start. This was followed by a 64-run stand between Saha and Sai Sudarshan. Saha was dismissed for 54 (39 balls), which had five fours and a six.
Sudarshan smashed 96 in just 47 balls, with eight fours and six sixes. He stitched an 81-run stand for the third wicket with skipper Hardik Pandya, who scored 21 from 12 balls.
Matheesha Pathirana took 2/44 in four overs. Deepak Chahar and Ravindra Jadeja took a wicket each.
While the first day of finals was washed off due to rains, the second day too was impacted and CSK chased a revised target in a largely post-midnight innings.
CSK were required to chase 171 runs in 15 overs. Openers Devon Conway (47 in 25 balls) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (26 in 16 balls) provided a platform with a 74-run stand for the first wicket. Ajinkya Rahane’s scored quickfire 27 in 13 balls and Ambati Rayadu’s 19 in eight balls but Mohit Sharma scripted a comeback for GT with his tight bowling. He also got Dhoni out for a golden duck.
CSK needed 13 runs in the final over. But Mohit could not defend it as Jadeja hit a match-winning four on the final ball.
Mohit was the pick of the bowlers for GT, taking 3/36 in his four overs. Noor Ahmed (2/17) also impressed with the ball.
Brief Scores: GT: 214/4 (Sai Sudharsan 96, Wriddhiman Saha 54, Matheesha Pathirana 2/44) lost to CSK: 171/5 in 15 overs (Devon Conway 47, Shivam Dube 32, Mohit Sharma 3/36).
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