The final of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) turned out to be one that was lauded as the greatest of all time. Although it was ravaged by rain, it came to an exciting finish in the wee hours of Tuesday as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) incredibly chased down a revised target of 171 in just 15 overs against the Gujarat Titans. As if the sheer task of chasing such a big target in that many overs wasn't enough, CSK needed 10 runs off the last ball and Ravindra Jadeja knocked it off with a six and a four.
Emotions ran high with the close finish and after the game as well, with even CSK captain MS Dhoni's famous composure cracking for a few seconds here and there. Dhoni is known to share a close relationship with Hardik Pandya, the Gujarat Titans captain who had made his international debut under him and played with him in the Indian team for a number of years.
A number of examples of the bond between the two could be seen throughout the night and perhaps the most significant of those was Dhoni's daughter Ziva giving Pandya a long hug after the game.
Pandya paid rich tribute to Dhoni in his post-match interview. "I'm very happy for him (Dhoni). Destiny had this written for him," Pandya said after their heartbreaking loss. "If I had to lose, I don't mind losing to him. Good things happen to good people and he's been one of the best people I know. God has been kind, God has been kind to me as well but today was his night," added the India white-ball all-rounder who led GT to title triumph in 2022.
{{/usCountry}}Pandya paid rich tribute to Dhoni in his post-match interview. "I'm very happy for him (Dhoni). Destiny had this written for him," Pandya said after their heartbreaking loss. "If I had to lose, I don't mind losing to him. Good things happen to good people and he's been one of the best people I know. God has been kind, God has been kind to me as well but today was his night," added the India white-ball all-rounder who led GT to title triumph in 2022.
{{/usCountry}}Dhoni himself has not yet ruled out playing in the IPL next year but said for that to happen, his body will have to hold up.
"If you circumstantially if you see it's the best time to announce the retirement. The easy thing for me to say is thank you and retire. But the hard thing to do is to work hard for nine months and try to play one more IPL season. The body has to hold up. But with the amount of love I have received from CSK fans, it would be a gift for them to play one more season. The way they have shown their love and emotion, it is something I need to do for them," said Dhoni in a post-match presentation.