IPL 2023: Sudharsan says fearless method propelled him 

IT was a case of so near yet so far for Gujarat Titans as they lost the IPL final by five wickets to Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday.

CHENNAI:  IT was a case of so near yet so far for Gujarat Titans as they lost the IPL final by five wickets to Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday. Batting first, Gujarat posted 214 for 4 in 20 overs with B Sai Sudharsan making 96 and Wriddhiman Saha scoring 54 runs. Any score of 200-plus in a final of a T20 game is challenging and Gujarat, too, expected that this target would be enough. But it was not to be. Due to rain, the revised target was 171 in 15 overs and this was achieved by CSK in dramatic fashion.

‘’We thought batting first we should put a challenging total on the board. So the plan was that the openers should give a good start and then the middle order should consolidate,’’ said Sai Sudharsan to this daily from Ahmedabad. “Luckily, Saha and Gill (Shubman) gave us a good start and then I was able to put some runs on the board. We felt that 200-plus in a final would be challenging and were expecting our bowlers to put pressure on the CSK batters,” added the 21-year-old.

None expected Sai Sudharsan to play the way he did and he surprised all with his brilliant strokeplay and sense of timing. ‘’Before the game, our coaches told me not to concede too many dot balls and play my natural game and express myself freely without any fear. I did not plan my innings, I just had a feel of the surface and played to the merit of the ball. After spending some time, the flow came naturally and I could manage to post some runs for the team.’’

After rain, the play was stopped and the revised target too was a tough one and the game went down to the wire. “We knew that nothing is easy in a final and we thought if our bowlers would put pressure and get wickets at regular intervals we stood a chance to win. CSK batters were making some useful contributions. In the last over, we thought Mohit Sharma would deliver for us, as he was one the most experienced bowlers in the team. We had hoped even mid-way through the final over and we never expected Jadeja to dash our hopes by scoring a six and four off the last two deliveries,” he said.