Jubilant CSK players dedicate fifth IPL title to retiring Ambati Rayudu

Chennai Super Kings players were ecstatic after they defeated Gujarat Titans by five wickets via the DLS method in a raininterrupted final and opener Ruturaj Gaikwad dedicated the victory to teammate Ambati Rayudu who will be retiring after this seasonIn a final stretched over three days Chennai were set a revised target of 171 in 15 overs when the rain had stopped play a few balls into their innings after the Gujarat Titans had rode on a quickfire 96 by Sai Sudharsan and a halfcentury by Wriddhiman Saha to post 2144 in 20 oversRuturaj Giakwad said winning IPL 2023 in the final spread over three days and lasting just 35 overs was special considering that CSK had finished ninth among 10 teams last seasonAlso Read CSK vs GT highlights Sir Jadeja wins it for CSK Chennai clinch fifth trophyThis one was special because of how it went last year for us To come back in style win away games win in Chepauk and the finish was unbelievable We would like to dedicate this win to Rayudu Giakwad told the official broadcaster after the matchCSK looked in trouble as they needed 20 runs from the last 11 deliveries and after Mohammad Shami bowled a brilliant 19th over had to score 13 from the final over Mohit Sharma bowled four superb deliveries conceding just three runs before Ravindra Jadeja hammered a six and a four off the last two deliveries to seal a dramatic victory for CSK in the thrillerPacer Deepak Chahar said Rayudu who announced two days back that it will be his last IPL was telling them Ill win the final That belief that he has is unbelievable said ChaharCSK looked in deep trouble at one time after losing Gaikwad 26 and Devon Conway 47 in quick succession But veteran Ajinkya Rahane pulled them through with a 13ball 27 and Ambati Rayudu put them on course to victory with an 8ball 19 Shivam Dube remained not out on 32 off 21 ballsRahane dismissed as an overthehill Test batter by many before the start of IPL 2023 reinvented himself as an aggressive batter and played some crucial innings this seasonHe gave credit to CSK management for backing him upCredit goes to CSK management for backing me They said they would back me completely if I got an opportunity The victory is really special Great team man on Rayudu The knock he played today was really special said RahaneSeasoned middleorder batter Rayudu was ecstatic that his career got a fairytale ending The 37yearold batter also equalled Rohit Sharmas record to win the most titles six as a playerIts a fairytale finish I couldnt have asked for more Im fortunate to have played in really great sides I can smile for the rest of my life All the hard work Ive done in the last 30 years Im happy I got to finish on this note I would really like to thank my family my father Without them this wouldnt have been possible said RayuduOn the occasion some of the CSK players also dedicated this title to skipper MS DhoniYoure always learning from MS how to deal with players and situations Its a massive part of IPL and thats why weve done so well said England allrounder Moeen AliOn the occasion assistant coach Mike Hussey thanked Ravindra Jadeja for getting them over the lineHats off to Gujarat as well theyve been amazing through the season but thankfully Jaddu got us over the line Dhoni is an amazing human being A good example is in the qualifier he was telling Senapati to remain calm and he gave us a crucial runout Some of those shots from Rayudu the slower balls that he hit over cover not many people can do that said HusseyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever