Chennai Super Kings are playing their 10th IPL final; MS Dhoni, his 11th; has tasted success four times, while facing defeat in six. Gujarat Titans are in their second IPL final in as many seasons they have been around; Hardik Pandya will feature in his 5th – he is yet to lose in a final.
A win for CSK will make them the most successful IPL franchise alongside Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians with five titles; while a GT triumph will establish Hardik Pandya as the most successful player, again alongside Rohit Sharma, with six title wins. GT will also become only the third team after CSK and MI to defend a title.
As much as May 28 will see the clash of the two teams with distinct records –unmatched experience vs unblemished record, it is also, in many ways a gaze into the future – as MS Dhoni looks to add another feather to his CSK cap before riding into the sunset, Pandya is already on the upward journey to scale new heights with the Titans.
CSK v MI has always been the marquee rivalry, IPL’s very own ‘El Clasico’; but GT are fast changing that. And if GT wins this year, might as well call this, IPL’s ‘Big Three’ – Federer vs Nadal vs Djokovic.
CSK, GT – A Mirror Image
CSK’s philosophy – under Dhoni and Stephen Fleming – has always been about simplicity and trust in their players. Replace CSK with GT here, and you will see the same under Pandya and Ashish Nehra/Gary Kirsten. No surprises there also, because Pandya has been with Dhoni for a long time – he is the protégé. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma flourished under Dhoni and spread their wings afterwards, but both are different breeds – to the varying levels of success both have enjoyed, they never were in Dhoni’s shadow.
Pandya is different from Kohli and Rohit, but so similar to Dhoni. He’s calm, calculated and most importantly instinctive.
What makes GT a mirror image of CSK is not only the fact that Pandya is treading the Dhoni philosophy, but both batting coach/mentor Kirsten (a former India coach) and head coach Nehra (a former CSK player) have drawn so much from CSK and their success into their own belief system at GT.
Pandya and Co. have the least amount of chopping and changes throughout the season and have backed each of their players to hilt. More importantly, they got it right at the auction table and that in itself is a strong short-arm jab in the opening round.
They also went against the convention, very much like CSK. While all the other eight teams ran after creating a foreign pool of Australian, South African and English players – GT were smart and astute in picking up two Afghans and one Irish player. CSK have featured two Sri Lankans and a Kiwi.
The Shubman Gill Factor
However, what has made the Titans an invincible team that they have been these two years, and especially this year – is the form of Shubman Gill and their bowlers. It is very rare to see a team dominate the charts the way GT have. Gill leads the Orange Cap with 851 runs, while Mohammad Shami, Rashid Khan and Mohit Sharma are the top three in Purple Cap rankings – if it were athletics, you could call it a Podium sweep – utter dominance.
So, what can CSK do about Gill? Nothing much, actually, as Fleming alluded to in the pre-match press conference, “He’s playing well. It doesn’t change. You hope that you pick him up early. You hope there’s enough firepower to create an opportunity, be good enough to take it,” Fleming said.
And therein lies the opportunity for CSK. Get rid of Gill early and try and put GT batters under pressure. But it will be easier said than done.
Sai Sudarshan, in the last game, showed he can soak in the pressure and hold one end allowing others to maintain the tempo. Pandya has been relatively quiet by his high standards with the bat, but he remains GT’s second-best scorer this season after Gill.
This is where Deepak Chahar comes in. Chahar has emerged as a formidable opponent to Gill, having dismissed the talented GT opener three times in just 47 deliveries during their IPL encounters. CSK will rely heavily on Chahar’s early spell to set the tone for the match.
How can CSK Negate Shami and Rashid?
Similarly, the struggling Ambati Rayudu could play a crucial role in countering the threat of Rashid during the middle overs, leveraging his past success of scoring 91 runs off Rashid in 73 balls, having been dismissed only once.
As for Shami the best way to counter him is probably to play risk-free cricket and let his overs pass by without much incident and then CSK will hope to take advantage of the other bowlers. Mohit Sharma has been a revelation this season, but being a former CSK player himself – Dhoni surely would know how to counter his former teammate’s wily old tricks.
The Ahmedabad Track Tailor Made for GT’s powerhouse batting?
Furthermore, the venue adds another layer of intrigue to the final. CSK has faced disappointment in all three matches they have played in Ahmedabad so far, making it their only winless venue in the IPL after at least three games.
In contrast, the Titans have enjoyed success in this stadium, securing six wins out of nine matches played here. It will be a batting paradise no doubt, for GT to nullify the Maheesh Theekshana and Ravindra Jadeja threat. Expect a high-scoring banger of a match in front of a record 1,32,000 spectators at the Narendra Mod Stadium.