How Jadeja won Chennai their fifth title
A six and four in the final two balls slayed mighty Gujarat and reignited his love affair with CSK fans
Ravindra Jadeja swung the ball to the fine-leg fence and sprinted, leapt and punched the air in utter delight before being smothered by his teammates. He kept running until he reached Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who scooped him up.
Jadeja was the man of the moment; the streetwise Hercules who fought the rising odds, as Bonnie Tyler’s song Holding Out for a Hero went. He smashed a six and a four when 10 runs were required from two balls, to gave CSK their fifth IPL title to draw abreast of the Mumbai Indians.
Was Jadeja the hero of the win over the Gujarat Titans? Heroes, they were aplenty. Devon Conway top-scored for CSK with 47 and fired the chase with a blistering opening wicket stand of 74 with Ruturaj Gaikwad. All that would have gone waste had Ajinkya Rahane not lifted the momentum with a 13-ball 27.
Ambati Rayudu made sure that his farewell match was memorable with an eight-ball 19, while Shivam Dube hit and missed to keep the CSK chase alive. So, who’s the CSK hero? All the batters were heroes (never mind captain Dhoni’s golden duck). They made amends for a poor bowling performance and pathetic fielding.
Gujarat went into the final as favourites. The 214 built on Sai Sudarshan’s 96 and Wriddhiman Saha’s 54 looked like a winning total. Even when rain intervened to invoke the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method and make the target 171 from 15 overs, Gujarat’s title defence was never in danger. That was until CSK batted.
Four titles, nine finals and 12 playoffs in 15 seasons tell us they are a champion side. A fifth title in the 10th final was a distinct possibility, even after the final spilt into the second day. And when it finished in the early hours of the third day, a beaming Dhoni held aloft the trophy before his delirious teammates joined him.
The last-ball thriller was a fitting finale to a season of 74 matches filled with nerve-jangling finishes and white-knuckle rides. In the end, Jadeja arrived when Chennai were holding out for a hero. During the tournament, Jadeja was riled by Chennai fans, who pestered him to get out and make way for Dhoni at the crease. His response was some cryptic posts on social media and a match-winning haul in Qualifier 1. The fiery flourish in the final followed.
Jadeja thanked CSK’s Whistle Podu fan army for their continuous support. That was his way of saying that he’s forgiven them. With that, the rumours of a rift have been laid to rest.