On Tuesday, May 23, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, during the match between the Gujarat Titans and the Chennai Super Kings, the legendary captain MS Dhoni employed a cunning tactical maneuver to send Hardik Pandya back to the pavilion. Before Maheesh Theekshana’s penultimate delivery of the sixth over, the 41-year-old altered the fielding formation and brought Ravindra Jadeja into the backward point region. On the very next delivery, the GT captain was dismissed while clipping the ball, as it went directly to Jadeja. Pandya was dismissed after scoring only seven runs off eight deliveries.
Meanwhile, social media users praised MS Dhoni masterstroke, and his video went viral the same night.
In the middle, Subhranshu Senapati—one of the replacement fielders—appeared to be in distress. Dhoni was observed telling the cricketer to calm down after his direct strike in the same over sent Darshan Nalkande packing.
CSK defeated GT by 15 runs to advance to their tenth IPL final.
Chennai Super Kings qualified for yet another Indian Premier League final after defeating the defending champion Gujarat Titans by 15 runs. In Chepauk, the four-time champions scored 172 runs in 20 overs while batting first, with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway providing a perfect start. Notably, Gaikwad scored 60 runs off of 44 deliveries, while Conway scored 40 runs off of 34 deliveries, and their 87-run partnership ultimately set the tone for CSK.
Ambati Rayudu (17 runs off nine deliveries) and Ravindra Jadeja (22 runs off 16 deliveries) helped CSK post a defendable score. When it came time to pursue, GT struggled from the start as wickets continued to fall from one end. The 23-year-old Shubman Gill appeared to be the lone combatant, scoring 42 runs off 38 deliveries before Deepak Chahar dismissed him. Rashid Khan (30 runs off 16 deliveries) did his best towards the conclusion of the game, but GT was unable to cross the finish line as CSK easily won the match.
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