Everything he touches turns into gold: Suresh Raina. MS Dhoni-led CSK stormed into their 10th IPL final after beating GT in Qualifier One of IPL 2023.
Chennai Super Kings qualified for the 2023 IPL Finals with a 15-run victory over the incumbent champions, Gujarat Titans, on Tuesday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Ruturaj Gaikwad led CSK’s innings, scoring 60 runs (44b, 7×4, 1×6) on way to a 173-run goal for Gujarat.
The Titans couldn’t keep up, were bowl out with 157 runs on the board, with Shubman Gill contributing 42 runs (38b, 4×4, 1×6). This is Chennai’s tenth participation in the IPL Finals and their first victory over the Gujarat Titans since the franchise’s creation in the 2022 season.
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MS Dhoni’s illustrious record as an IPL captain has been enhance by his captaincy of Chennai to their tenth finals appearance.
He presently holds four titles and is one step closer to claiming his fifth. Suresh Raina, a JioCinema IPL expert, praised Dhoni’s ability to continuously lead teams to this late level in the IPL.
“Look at how they got to the Finals, 14 seasons and ten Finals, I think it’s a great accomplishment.” MS Dhoni kept things straightforward. He deserves recognition, and Ruturaj (Gaikwad) told me that CSK wants to win the trophy in honor of Dhoni. The entire country wants Dhoni to win the IPL. But what we saw tonight is that beating Chennai on this field is really difficult… Everything he touches turns to gold, which is why he given the moniker Mahendra Singh Dhoni.”
The removal of Hardik Pandya in the sixth over was crucial in Chennai’s victory. IPL analyst Parthiv Patel recounted how Dhoni carefully instructed Maheesh Theekshana to ensure Pandya’s wicket fell.
The Super Kings are difficult to beat, especially at their home stadium, which hosted the Qualifier. “I feel there is an intimidating factor,” IPL expert AB de Villiers said of teams walking into the Chepauk Stadium fearful of CSK and Dhoni. Whether it’s the ground or the MSD factor, opposing teams arrive believing they must play great cricket to defeat them. However, when you glance at the scoreboard, you notice that you tend to lose by small margins. It’s 10 or 15 runs, or being no-ball free, that may flip a game around. MSD and his soldiers tend to get it right when they play at home, and you’ll see what they come up with when they play in major Finals.”
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