hardik pandya csk ipl 2023 final sportstiger

Picture Credit: Twitter/IPL

After losing the IPL 2023 Final, the captain of Gujarat Titans, Hardik Pandya had a very frank chat during the post-match presentation at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. While talking about the reasons for the tough defeat, the 29-year-old all-rounder wasn’t in a mood to make any excuses and acknowledged Chennai Super Kings for playing better than his team.

For the unversed, CSK defeated GT by five wickets on May 29, past midnight, to lift the IPL trophy for the fifth time under the leadership of MS Dhoni. It was the heroics of Ravindra Jadeja, who scored 10 runs on the final two balls of the match against Mohit Sharma, to take Chennai over the line in an edge of the seat contest.

In the post-match presentation, while speaking to esteemed commentator Harsha Bhogle, the Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya was quoted as saying, “I am not the guy who will make excuses. CSK just played better than us.”

Earlier in the evening, it was Chennai captain MS Dhoni, who won the toss and put Gujarat in to bat first. Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha put together an opening stand of 67 runs in seven overs to give their team a fantastic platform to score a big total. Sai Sudharshan capitalised on the start and ended up playing an innings of a lifetime. He got 96 runs off 47 deliveries with eight fours and six maximums to propel Gujarat Titans to 214/4 in their allotted 20 overs.

The run chase for CSK was hampered by rains early on, but when the play resumed, their openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway gave a fiery response to the GT bowlers. Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, and Shivam Dube kept chipping away at the reduced target of 171 runs in 15 overs as per DLS method. But it was Ravindra Jadeja, who stole the show in the final over to help Chennai Super Kings win their third IPL title in six seasons.