When bowler Deepak Chahar attempted to run out Vijay Shankar at the non-striker’s end during Qualifier 1, Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni smiled.
Deepak sprinted in to bowl his delivery and flipped the bails at the non-striker’s end as he was about to finish his run-up. Interestingly, Shankar was still at the crease. Deepak just smiled back at Shankar.
Thala offered a cheeky smile when he saw this attempt from Deepak, creating a lovely lighthearted moment.
MS Dhoni’s leadership masterclass propels CSK to yet another final.
CSK advanced to their tenth IPL final after successfully defending a 173 run score against GT, winning by 15 runs. While the goal appeared to be a little low at the midway point, there was no dew in the second half and Thala used his spinners to great effect on the sluggish Chepauk pitch.
Apart from Shubman Gill (42), no other Gujarat batter appeared to have a measure of the surface. The squad continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. Captain Hardik Pandya (8) and David Miller (4) could not quite put their expertise to the fore as Maheesh Theekshana and Ravindra Jadeja halted the score.
Rashid Khan (30 off 16) gave it his all at the end to keep the Titans in the hunt. However, MS’s great field placement and Tushar Deshpande’s excellent execution resulted in the all rounder’s dismissal. That proved to be the final nail in their coffin, as the Men in Yellow advanced to the final on May 28 in Ahmedabad.
The Titans will also go to Ahmedabad and await the winner of Wednesday’s Eliminator between the Lucknow Super Giants and the Mumbai Indians.
