WATCH: MS Dhoni Calls Rayudu, Jadeja To Collect Trophy And Then Steps Aside As CSK Celebrate Record-Equalling Fifth IPL Title
MS Dhoni did not lift the trophy himself but called Ravindra Jadeja and Ambati Rayudu to collect the trophy before the stepped aside and let his CSK teammates take centre stage.
The legend of MS Dhoni continues. While the man had already won everything that a captain aspires to achieve, he added yet another trophy to his cabinet as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated the Gujarat Titans (GT) by 5 wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to clinch their fifth title. Dhoni-led CSK was already rated among the most consistent teams of the T20 tournament with a record number of appearances in the Playoffs and their 10th IPL final in the 14 seasons in which they have participated in.
However, with Chennai's win over Gujarat in a match that ended way past 1 am (IST) on Tuesday, they are now levelled with Mumbai Indians (MI) as the franchise with the most number of IPL trophies to their credit. Dhoni was not only at his usual tactical best throughout the tournament but even played a few crucial cameos with the bat.
On the night of a rain-hit final on a reserve day, Dhoni may have failed with the bat, getting out for a golden duck, but Ravindra Jadeja's 10 off the last 2 balls and contributions from Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube all helped in CSK securing a win. Ambati Rayudu, who had already announced that the IPL final will be the last game of his career, also played a pivotal cameo scoring 18 off 9 balls.
While usually Dhoni lifts the IPl trophy and gives it to the young members of the squad, this time around he called Jadeja and Rayudu to lift the trophy and as usual stepped aside as the team took centre stage in celebrating their record-equalling triumph.
The video of the same has gone viral.
Take a look:
𝗖.𝗛.𝗔.𝗠.𝗣.𝗜.𝗢.𝗡.𝗦! 🏆
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 29, 2023
Chennai Super Kings Captain MS Dhoni receives the #TATAIPL Trophy from BCCI President Roger Binny and BCCI Honorary Secretary @JayShah 👏👏 #CSKvGT | #Final | @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/WP8f3a9mMc
While there were reports which claimed that this could be the final IPL for Dhoni, he himself made it clear that he would try to come back for the next season but said that a decision will be taken based on the condition of his body in the coming months.