When the Gujarat Titans go up against the four-time champion Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final on Sunday in Ahmedabad, they will be motivated by the desire to exact revenge on their opponents.
Chennai, captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, defeated Gujarat in the first qualifier on Tuesday. Gujarat had previously won the title in their maiden season of competition the previous year, and they finished first in their group this season.
After suffering that loss, the players led by Hardik Pandya rallied to upset the most successful club in the league, the Mumbai Indians, in the second qualifier that took place on Friday. This victory set up a rematch with Chennai at Gujarat’s home stadium in Ahmedabad.
In addition, Gujarat have the necessary players to make history by becoming the first IPL franchise to win the league in each of their first two attempts, preventing Chennai from achieving a record-tying fifth victory.
The season’s highest scorer, opener Shubman Gill, is now in magnificent form, having hammered three hundreds in his past four innings.
Pandya referred to his teammate on the India national cricket team, Gill, as a “superstar” and predicted that Gill will “do big things” for both franchise cricket and Indian cricket.
Mohit Sharma, Rashid Khan, and Mohammed Shami are the top three bowlers in this season, and all three of them are from Gujarat.
Rashid has spearheaded Gujarat’s spin attack, grabbing critical wickets at important junctures, while seamer Shami has been particularly brilliant during the powerplay overs.
“When things are not going the way I like, he is someone who comes and changes momentum and makes sure we keep getting wickets,” Pandya said of the Afghan spinner. “When things are not going the way I like, he is someone who comes and changes momentum and makes sure we keep getting wickets.”
“We have talked enough about Rashid, but there are times when I find myself at a loss for words when describing what he does.”
In the season that may be their talismanic skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s last, Chennai will have the potential to tie Mumbai’s record of five IPL titles.
Through his motivational leadership, Dhoni has been able to coax the greatest performance out of his teammates, just like he did when he was captain of India.
Shivam Dube has emerged as Chennai’s go-to six-hitting machine, while Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad have been the team’s top scorers.
In the bowling department, the death-overs experts Matheesha Pathirana and Tushar Deshpande are Tushar Deshpande and Matheesha Pathirana.
“You use them in a manner where they have the most chances of performing and, at the same time, groom them in the areas where they are not very strong,” Dhoni said of his approach to leadership. “You use them in a manner where they have the most chances of performing in an upcoming match.”