'...he was looking calm': Sanjay Manjrekar slams Gujarat Titans' last over tactics, 'Mohit Sharma was in the zone'

Mohit Sharma had bowled an exceptional last over up until the last two balls, off which Ravindra Jadeja hit 10 runs and Chennai Super Kings won the title.

Mohit Sharma had an extraordinary season with the Gujarat Titans in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) and it all seemed to come to a fitting conclusion with him leading his team to victory in the final against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the wee hours of Tuesday. Mohit had been putting the breaks on the CSK innings whenever he bowled as they chased down a revised target of 171 in just 15 overs.

Gujarat Titans' Mohit Sharma, right, listens to captain Hardik Pandya before bowling his fifth delivery (AP)

It came down to CSK needing 13 to win off the last over. Mohit had the ball in his hands, having taken three wickets already and he gave away just three runs in the first four balls. There were a lot of discussions between Mohit and captain Hardik Pandya after the fourth ball and the dug out had even sent out some drinks for the pacer. It led to a big gap between the fourth and fifth balls and when the penultimate delivery was finally sent in, Mohit missed his yorker by a few inches and Jadeja launched the ball over long-on for six. CSK needed just four to win off the last ball. While Mohit erred with his length off the fifth ball, he erred with his line off the last, sending a full toss on the pads that Jadeja tucked away easily past short fine leg to the boundary.

While the accolades flowed for Jadeja and some commiserations also came in for the distraught Mohit, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar felt that GT made a mistake by interrupting the fast bowler after the fourth ball. “Mohit Sharma is not somebody that we know is a yorker-bowler. His main strength is taking the pace off, and here, he was nailing the perfect yorkers. He was in the zone, three brilliant yorkers to dangerous batters. He has a drink!” said Manjrekar on ESPNCricinfo. "There are a couple of people who come around. When he was walking back to his bowling mark, he was looking calm and confident. Why would you spoil that rhythm?"

GT had batted first and scored 214/4 thanks to Sai Sudharsan's 96 off 47 balls and Wriddhiman Saha's 54 off 39. CSK's chase was interrupted after the third ball, off which Ruturaj Gaikwad had hit a four and got his team off the mark, by heavy rain. The delay was extended to two and a half hours due to a wet outfield after which their innings was reduced to 15 overs and target corrected to 171. It was a steep chase but CSK remained on course almost throghout due to innings from Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu and Shivam Dube before Jadeja finished it in dramatic fashion.