- Sunday, October 01, 2023
The final is believed to be MS Dhoni’s last as a player
By: Chandrashekar Bhat
Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl first against holders Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League final on Monday (29).
Play was washed out on Sunday (28) without a ball being bowled after rain and thunderstorms hit the western city of Ahmedabad, disappointing the crowd at the world’s biggest cricket stadium.
The match was then pushed back to Monday’s reserve day.
The final is believed to be Dhoni’s last as a player and thousands of fans wearing the superstar cricketer’s yellow jersey have returned to the 132,000-capacity stadium.
Chennai will be aiming for a record-equalling fifth title to go level with IPL powerhouse Mumbai Indians, led by all-format India captain Rohit Sharma.
With rain predicted and dark clouds hovering, Dhoni, who is playing his 250th IPL match, preferred to field. Chennai have gone with the same team that beat Gujarat in the first play-off last week.
Gujarat have extended their fairytale journey, which began with a title win in their debut season last year at the same venue.
Skipper Hardik Pandya returns with the same team that hammered Mumbai in the final playoff.
Teams
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (capt), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, M.S. Dhoni (capt, wk), Deepak Chahar, Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana
(AFP)
