WATCH: Master tactician MS Dhoni at his best, plots Hardik Pandya’s dismissal during Qualifier 1

Just prior to dismissing GT skipper Hardik Pandya in the sixth over, Dhoni moved a fielder to the off-side and this paid off on the next ball.

WATCH: Master tactician MS Dhoni at his best, plots Hardik Pandya’s dismissal during Qualifier 1

Hardik Pandya (Image via Twitter)

MS Dhoni couldn’t do much with the bat during the Qualifier 1 of the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) against Gujarat Titans on Tuesday (May 23) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. He scored just one run from two balls before Mohit Sharma sent him to the dugout in the penultimate over. But Dhoni as a master tactician was on full display.

Just prior to dismissing GT skipper Hardik Pandya in the sixth over, Dhoni moved a fielder to the off-side and this paid off on the next ball. Maheesh Theekshana delivered a short-length ball outside off which Pandya tried to push toward the backward point but as he did not get the desired height, it fell straight to the hands of Ravindra Jadeja. Pandya could score just eight runs from seven balls with a boundary.

Watch the video here:

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From the GT side, only Shubman Gill scored, albeit, it was a slow knock. He tried to save his wicket at a time when other batters were losing theirs at regular intervals. Gill, with four boundaries and a six, scored 42 runs from 38 balls but it wasn’t enough for the defending champions to chase down the 173-run target. CSK were losing momentum at one point when Rashid Khan was going for boundary shots but he alone couldn’t finish the match and they eventually lost it by 15 runs.

Related: “Kohli hit one six, Gill hit eight,” IPL-winning coach points out ‘significant difference’ between two centuries

MS Dhoni and Co. reached IPL final for 10th time 

MS Dhoni and Co. reached IPL final for 10th time 
CSK in 2023 (Image via Twitter)

MS Dhoni and Co. have advanced to the IPL final for 10th time. For Yellow Jersey, Ruturaj Gaikwad starred, for he racked up 60 runs from 44 balls, which awarded him the Player of the Match trophy.

As for the Gujarat Titans, they aren’t done yet. They will take on either Mumbai Indians or Lucknow Super Giants in Ahmedabad. After losing the match, GT skipper Hardik Pandya pointed out that the team did some basic errors. “I think we did a lot of things right. But we bowled a couple of soft balls in between, we must’ve conceded 16 runs or so due to our soft balls.”

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