[ad_1]
| Indian Premier League final, Ahmedabad; |
| Gujarat Titans 214-4 (20 overs): Sudharsan 96 (47), Saha 54 (39), Gill 39 (20) |
| Chennai Super Kings 171-5 (15 overs): Conway 47 (25), Mohit 3-36, Noor 2-17 |
| Chennai Super Kings win by five wickets on Duckworth-Lewis |
| Scorecard |
Chennai Super Kings hit 10 off the last two balls to beat Gujarat Titans by five wickets and win the Indian Premier League for a fifth time.
Sai Sudharsan’s 96 had helped put the Titans in a commanding position as they finished their innings on 214-4.
A rain delay saw the Super Kings’ innings reduced to 15 overs and set a target of 171.
And Ravindra Jadeja struck the decisive runs, a six and final-ball four, to settle a thrilling encounter.
The match was likely to be the last of Chennai captain M.S. Dhoni’s career, with the 41-year-old having said he would take a call on his future later this year.
He entered the fray late on but was out for a first-ball duck, briefly resulting in stunned silence before Chennai rallied to seal victory in dramatic fashion.
The final had originally been scheduled for Sunday, but heavy rain in Ahmedabad meant organisers moved it to its reserve day.
An impressive display by the 21-year-old Sudharsan, whose 96 runs came off 47 balls and included six sixes, put the Titans in a strong position to defend the title they won for the first time last year.
Openers Wriddhiman Saha (54) and Shubman Gill (39) also shone, while Matheesha Pathirana took 2-44 for Chennai.
The Super Kings had to wait almost three hours to get their run chase under way and, by the time they finally emerged to bat, it was well after midnight local time.
But the 75,000 who had waited patiently inside the stadium were treated to a fearless display of cricket.
Devon Conway made 47 and Shivam Dubey was unbeaten on 32 as Chennai scrapped towards their target as Mohit Sharma took 3-36.
Jadeja sealed a tense victory under the Duckworth-Lewis method by hitting Sharma’s last two balls for crucial boundaries.
