Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra hailed the Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni for his brilliant captaincy in this edition of the Indian Premier League. The 41-year-old has brought in the best of their team players to deliver for the team in crunch situations of the game.
The four-time champions were scheduled to take on the defending champions Gujarat Titans in the grand final on Sunday, as the game was moved to the reserve day on Monday due to the persistent and continuous rainfall in the famous Narendra Modi Stadium.
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra previewed the grand final on his youtube channel, where he lauded the CSK skipper for his utilizing young the Matheesha Pathirana in the death over and usage of mystery spinner Maheesh Theeskshana in the middle overs of the game in IPL 2023 as he bowled in different stages of the innings.
“You look at Matheesha Pathirana. Death bowling was a concern. Now you see him bowling in the death overs consistently. So he (Dhoni) has suddenly resolved the death bowling issues.”
“The way he has used Maheesh Theekshana. He was not picking that many wickets but suddenly you will find that he is getting him to pick up wickets by bowling him at different-different stages,” Aakash Chopra said
The 20-year-old has been the standout performer for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2023. The right-arm pacer has impressed everyone with his pace and ability to bowl in the death overs. Matheesha Pathirana has emerged as Dhoni’s go-to man in death overs. He has 17 wickets from 11 matches for CSK, with an economy rate of 7.72, having bowled at the death overs for the four-time champions.
Ajinkya Rahane’s Stature Suddenly Grows For The Final – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra believes that the CSK veteran Ajinkya Rahane will have a vital role to play in the grand final against Gujarat Titans, as he has played exceptionally well in the away conditions for their side and reckons that the Indian batter has the second-best outing average in the Narendra Modi Stadium.
“Ajinkya Rahane’s performances at home have been extremely ordinary but he is brilliant whenever he travels and plays on better pitches. If you talk about this ground, the second-best of his career is at this ground. So Ajinkya Rahane’s stature suddenly grows for the final,” Aakash Chopra added.
Following his heroics in IPL and domestic cricket, the 34-year-old made a stunning return to the Indian squad for the World Test Championship final against Australia scheduled for June 7.
The former India vice-captain came back strongly and played the 2022/23 Ranji Trophy season and piled up 634 runs in 7 matches at an average of 57.63. His tally included a century and a double century.