Still got 8-9 months to decide on IPL future, says MS Dhoni after CSK's last game in Chennai in IPL 2023

MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings have qualified for their 10th IPL final in 14 seasons.

Chennai Super Kings have booked their flight to Ahmedabad after defeating Gujarat Titans by 15 runs in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2023 at Chepauk. Chennai, with dominating spells from their spinners in the middle and Deepak Chahar (2/29) at the top, defended 172 runs comfortably. Maheesh Theekshana (2/28) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/18) did not let the Titans build any big partnership that could have powered their chase. Chennai with a dominating 87 runs-opening partnership from Ruturaj Gaikwad (60) and Devon Conway (40) and a 22 runs cameo from Ravindra Jadeja put up 172 on the board. For the Titans, apart from Shubman Gill (42) and Rashid Khan (30), no batter took responsibility thus resulting in the Titans losing the game. Gujarat Titans will have another opportunity in Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad. 

Still got 8-9 months to take the call - MS Dhoni

Along with Chennai's game, there was another topic that was trending. MS Dhoni has made a big statement about his participation in the next IPL. Talking about his future, Chennai captain MS Dhoni said, “I don’t know, I have 8-9 months to decide. I have ample time to decide… Why take that headache now. The auction is in December… I will always be there for CSK, whether it’s playing or something outside”. There are huge expectations around MS Dhoni that he might be appointed as a mentor of CSK and this was Dhoni’s last inning at Chepauk. Talking about playing yet another final, Dhoni said, “Ten teams make it all the more tougher, it is hard work of two months. Lot of character was shown by our players. Everyone has contributed to the team's win”. This will be Chennai’s 10th final in their 14-season-long IPL career. 

Hardik Pandya still confident about GT's chances

Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya felt that the team should not look too much from this game. He said, “I think we were quite spot on with the ball, but we made few basic errors and that cost us the game. With the kind of bowlers we had, I think we conceded 15 extra runs. A lot of things we did right but we bowled a couple of soft balls in between”. He further added, “I don’t think we need to look too much into it, we have to play two days later, we have to play one more game to make sure we reach the final, just focus on things that we have done well this season”. Gujarat Titans finished number one in the points table, in extra advantage he will get one more opportunity in the Qualifier 2 to qualify for the big final against Chennai Super Kings. 

The run-machine Gaikwad for Chennai Super Kings

Chennai Super Kings opener Ruturaj Gaikwad was awarded Player of the Match for his magnificent half-century against Gujarat Titans. Ruturaj smashed 60 runs in 44 balls with 7 fours and a six. Gaikwad said, “Last 3-4 games in Chennai have been different, first few games the wicket was better, now we have to adapt accordingly and we were looking for strike rotation, I also capitalised on the loose deliveries bowled”. Ruturaj Gaikwad has scored 564 runs this season and has added big partnerships along with Devon Conway.