Very rarely has an IPL final gone down the wire to eventually decide the winner of the tournament over the course of two days, with the heavens opening up at will and eventually relenting to let the game go on and bring a fabled end to the IPL 2023 season. In a roller-coaster finale, it was the Chennai Super Kings who would go on to turn the tide around in the final two balls of the innings as they trumped the Gujarat Titans in a rain-curtailed spectacle.

After being put to bat by MS Dhoni, Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill got off to an absolute flyer, clobbering the CSK bowlers to every single nook and cranny of the park. Saha belted 54 from 39 balls, smashing five fours and one six while Gill knitted together a valuable 39 from 20 balls, rocking seven fours in the process.

It was Ravindra Jadeja who applied the brakes to the Gujarat innings with a skitter that foxed Gill and before the Indian opener could realise, Dhoni had the bails clipped in a fraction of a second. Albeit the slowdown in the scoring rate with the departure of Gill, B Sai Sudharsan soon picked up the pace and kick-started a fabulous 96-run knock that eventually gave way to a relentless rollicking of the CSK bowlers. Deepak Chahar did pick up Saha’s scalp but Hardik Pandya came in and took on the bowlers, giving the CSK bowling unit no respite.

A very talented youngster from Tamil Nadu, Sudharhan showcased his hard-hitting flair and left the opposition utterly speechless, smashing 96 off 47 balls before eventually falling short of his maiden IPL ton, caught plumb in front to Matheesha Pathirana. Riding high on the efforts from the batsmen, Gujarat posted 214/4 from their 20 overs.

Much to Chennai’s woes, halfway into the first over, the heavens cracked open again, with rain interrupting the game. When the players were back on the field, the match was curtailed to a 15-over battle that required Chennai Super Kings to chase down 171 for a famous win.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway got CSK off to a sizzling start as the opening pair knitted together 74 runs before both Gaikwad (26) and Conway (47) lost their wicket to 18-year-old left-arm wrist spinner, Noor Ahmad within the space of three balls.

Shivam Dube arrived at the centre as the Impact Player of the side, and he was joined by Ajinkya Rahane as the duo went about resurrecting the chase with some delightful strokes. Rahane was also quick off the blocks, firing a meaty 27 from just 13 balls before he was dismissed, bringing Ambati Rayudu, who was playing his final IPL match, to the crease. 

Dube swung the momentum CSK’s way with two sixes off Rashid Khan, before Rayudu took on Mohit Sharma to smack two sixes and a four in three balls that brought that infused a lot of hope in the visitors’ fans.

At the fall of Rayudu’s wicket, in walked MS Dhoni to rapturous applause, but his stay was short-lived, with the CSK skipper offering a catch to covers and departing for a first-ball duck. With 13 runs needed off the final over and 10 needed off the last two balls, it was eventually one of their underrated heroes of the tournament, Ravindra Jadeja, who belted a six over long-on and followed it up with a flick to fine leg for four to spark crazy celebrations in the CSK camp and bring about their 5th IPL title win. 

Although he finished on the losing side, Shubman Gill was adjudged the Player of the Tournament and also walked away with the Orange Cap for his tally of 890 runs from 17 innings, that also comprised three centuries. Mohammed Shami was handed over the Purple Cap for his 28 wickets from 17 innings. After what went down in history as one of the craziest IPL seasons of all time, the final did live up to the expectations of a showstopper despite the repeated intrusions of the Rain Gods.