GT vs CSK: Sensational Sudharsan records all-time great IPL final knocks

Sai Sudharsan the baby of Gujarat Titans took giant steps to propel the defending champions to a formidable total of 214 for 4 against Chennai Super Kings in the rainhit IPL16 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on MondayPrimarily given the role of anchoring the innings while the others around him would go for broke 21yearold Sai 96 47 balls 8x4 6x6 showed that he too was capable of being an aggressor for a strike rate of 20425The match was delayed because of a wet outfield after CSK had scored four for no loss in the first overGT Saharsquos during his 54He was particularly severe on Chennai Super Kingsrsquos Lasith Malinga clone Matheesha Pathirana taking 34 runs off only 14 deliveries The smallbuilt southpaw unleashed some feisty hits over the ropes The Tamil Nadu batter missed his first IPL century against CSK by four runs when Pathirana toe crusher had him plumb in frontAlso Read CSK vs GT highlights Sir Jadeja wins it for CSK Chennai clinch fifth trophyHowever two successive sixes off Pathirana in the first two balls of the 20th over had raised his century hopes He first hit the Sri Lankan pacer over extra cover and then went on his knee to slog sweep the slingerrsquos 146kmh delivery over longon and deep inside the standsSai is more of an orthodox batter who is comfortable playing shots out of coaching manual so his attempt to scoop Tushar Deshpande over MS Dhonirsquos head looked comical Yet he managed to beat the short third man for a boundaryDeshpande 056 had a forgettable day as Chennairsquos fragile bowling attack got exposed Titans made the best use of the Powerplay as well as the death overs scoring 133 runs in that period Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha 54 39 balls 5x4 1x6 did well to score 62 runs in Powerplay while Sai made sure that they maximised the last five overs by scoring 71 as skipper Hardik Pandya chose to give more strike to the marauding lefthander Unlike the other captains Dhoni has his own strategy but on Monday it backfired when he chose to use only two bowlers for the first two overs As soon as he brought in the spinners Gujaratrsquos run rate dropped from 103 to 86but that relief was shortlived as Saha and Sai decided to take on the bowlers more aggressively for their 42ball 64run partnershipStrong partnerships and strike rotation proved to be fruitful for the Titans Gill and Saha added 67 in 42 balls while Sai and Hardik 21 12 balls 2x6 were harsh on the Chennai bowlers milking 81 runs in 33 ballsAlthough Motera is home to Titans the 130000capacity stadium turned into a yellow carpet by fans wearing No 7 jerseys And Dhoni didnrsquot disappoint them when he reacted in 012 seconds to send Gill back to the pavilion Ravindra Jadeja pitched it up and Gill lunged forward to drive but the quicker ball turned sharply and in a flash Dhoni whipped off the bails to catch this seasonrsquos threetime centurion out of his crease