'If I had to lose, don't mind losing to him': Pandya on MS Dhoni after IPL 2023 title loss

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad witnessed emotional scenes late on Monday as MS Dhoni lifted his fifth Indian Premier League title with Chennai Super Kings. In a rain-affected game, Ravindra Jadeja hit a six and four off to help Chennai Super Kings win IPL 2023 in thrilling fashion. Meanwhile, this was a rare IPL final loss for Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya, who has won the trophy four times as a player in Mumbai Indians and once as GT’s skipper last year.

Just like the thousands of fans present in the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad,  the losing captain Hardik Pandya summed up CSK’s title win to be MS Dhoni’s destiny. “I'm very happy for him, destiny had this written. If I had to lose, I'd rather lose 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,” said Pandya at the post-match presentation.

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The IPL 2023 defending champions GT finished at the top of the league stage standings and entered the final with a massive win over Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians. However, Dhoni displayed yet another captaincy masterclass by making the most of the resources he had. The CSK bowling lineup suffered a beating in the first innings as Gujarat Titans reached 214/4, courtesy of S Sai Sudhardhan’s heroic 96 off 47.

CSK overcome GT challenge despite rain interruption in IPL 2023 final

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Coming back to the match, Chennai Super Kings’s target was reduced to 171 runs due to a rain interruption as the play resumed at 12:10 a.m. on Tuesday. Devon Conway led the proceedings for CSK with a knock of 47 runs in 25 balls, before Ajinkya Rahane and Ambati Rayudu made notable contributions. Shivam Dube was at the non-striker’s end on 32* off 21, as Jadeja brought down the curtains in style.