After the rain-shortened final in Ahmedabad, Chennai Super Kings defeated Gujarat Titans to claim their fifth IPL championship. Titans set a record with 214 with to Sai Sudharsan’s 96. Rain began to fall during the first over of Super Kings’ chase, resulting in a delay of more than two hours. Eventually, with to a Ravindra Jadeja four off the penultimate ball, Super Kings completed the revised chase of 171 runs off 15 overs. The CSK players and coaches responded to their stunning victory as follows:
After the championship, Ambati Rayudu announced his retirement. “Yes, it’s a fairy-tale finale. It was all I could have hoped for. It’s truly unbelievable. fortunate to have played for some truly outstanding teams, of which this is one. I can laugh for the rest of my life [about the significance of this, his final game]. the last 30 years’ worth of laborious labour. I’m just relieved that it was completed this evening.
“I really enjoyed it,” said Ajinkya Rahane of one of the tournament’s most memorable stories. I give credit to CSK management and the captain, Mahi bhai, who supported me and explained to me before the season what my role would be if I was given the chance, saying, “When you get the chance, we’ll back you completely.” Just go play your game; that’s all we want of you. They didn’t meddle in any way, which as a player I thought was excellent. The amount of freedom provided by CSK is enormous. I was quite pleased with how I batted. But this victory, this championship win, is truly unique.
