IPL-2023 Final: Chennai will win the IPL title if they manage to tie Shubman Gill
The 2023 IPL final will be held in Ahmedabad as the venue for a thrilling battle between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings. Dhoni’s experience, consistency and Hardika Pandey’s tension will be tested.
It was inevitable that CSK, who defeated Gujarat in Qualifier 1 and directly entered the final, will face the same Gujarat team in the final. GT is determined to win the match and take revenge. Dhoni’s team is determined to control Gill who is in full swing and win the title.
Gujarat Titans to face Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad
In IPL Cricket, Gujarat Titans will face Chennai Super Kings in the summit clash at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Gujarat Titans stormed into the final defeating Mumbai Indians by 62 runs in the second Qualifier match at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. Chasing 234 for victory, Mumbai Indians were all out for 171 in 18.2 overs.
Earlier, put into bat, Gujarat Titans posted 233 for 3 in the stipulated 20 overs. Mohit Sharma picked up 5 wickets by giving away just 10 runs for Gujarat Titans. Opener Shubman Gill scored a blistering 129 off 60 for Gujarat while Suryakumar Yadav contributed 61 off 38 for Mumbai.
The 23-year-old Shubman Gill became the second Indian batter after Virat Kohli to hit three tons in a season. Shubman was adjudged player of the match.
In 9 out of 12 finals since 2011, the side winning Qualifier 1 has gone on to win the final as well.
Numbers matter. But if confidence, pressure and other sporting buzzwords were indeed irrelevant, cricket would’ve been played by robots.
Chennai Super Kings have resisted letting the situation get to them in the past. Players who were a part of the setup have claimed that the feeling of playing a final was never really felt in the team. Yet, a day ahead of the 2023 final, Stephen Fleming, who has been a part of 11 IPL finals, doesn’t deny that there is ‘a bit of nervousness’. It’s what makes the players perform at their best, according to him.
On the other hand, Vikram Solanki, GT’s Director of Cricket, put up a more relaxed front – of being confident in what the team has achieved in its brief past, as well as giving the due to CSK who have done it many times over.
CSK may have dictated terms in the first Qualifier against Gujarat Titans, but on a slowish surface in Chennai, it was home comfort for them. Irrespective of how many fans turn up wearing the yellow jersey in Ahmedabad on Sunday in the hope to see MS Dhoni lift the trophy again in what could be his last game in the IPL, conditions will be far from home. Fleming isn’t fretting though. Playing on all sorts of surfaces this season has equipped his team slightly better to neutral pitches, according to him.
Solanki is expecting a fast, high-scoring wicket, similar to the one where the home side had chased down CSK’s 178-run total with four balls to spare right at the start of the season. GT may be slightly better equipped for such conditions, asshowcased on Friday against Mumbai Indians.
While a lot of skill and tactics will be at play, the title clash will boil down to the pressures of the day for two teams who have enjoyed spells of domination throughout the season.
