GT vs CSK: Pandya pysched up in high-octane duel against 'idol' at Motera

Mahendra Singh Dhonis CSK would remain conscious of ayoung Shubman Gill oozing grace who would do everything under his control to prevent the fourtime champions from beating Gujarat Titans to its fifth IPL title on SundayOn Sunday the soontobe 42 Dhoni will have one last assignment in his favourite Canary Yellow jersey to stop Indian cricketrsquos megastarinwaiting and do a lsquoHigh Fiversquo Three hundreds and 851 runs donrsquot happen in every season but on a batting belter at the Motera what will be Dhonirsquos strategy to rein in the lsquoMohali Marauderrsquo Will it be Deepak Chaharrsquos swing or Ravindra Jadejarsquos wickettowicket bowling Or will it be Moeen Ali who could be the lsquoJoker in the Packrsquo with his enticing flighted deliveries outside the offstump which could sharply break backCan Matheesha Pathirana bowl some incisive toecrushers A technically nearperfect batter against a captain known for thinking out of the box It canrsquot get more exciting than this His diehard fans might expect him to come back again next year but even Dhoni who has played the entire season with a heavily strapped left knee might find it extremely difficult to keep up with the demands of the shortest formatSo for every lsquoThalarsquo elder brother in Tamil fan its all about savouring the Dhoni moments till it lasts In this CSK setup he could afford to bat at No 8 in most games but entering the finals with a bowling lineup that missed Deepak Chahar for the better part of first half and had to turn a profligate Tushar Deshpande into a dependable wickettakerAlso Read GT vs CSK IPL 2023 Final Dream11 Prediction Playing XI live streaming amp moreTurning an inconsistent Shivam Dube into a sixhitting bully or overseeing the return of Ravindra Jadeja the T20 bowler the legend of Dhoni will never cease to exist It will only grow and his captaincy stories will also be burnished with coats of myth decades down the line They say familiarity breeds contempt but contempt would be the last word in Dhoni and CSKrsquos mind when they face Hardik Padyarsquos TitansThe CSK logo features a ldquoRoaring Lionrdquo but they would take the team from Land of Gir Forest lightly at their own peril After 73 games the two of the most consistent teams are pitted against each other in the summit clash No team has emulated the structural and team building ethos of Chennai Super Kings as minutely as Gujarat Titans another team where cricketing decisions are based on sound logic consistency and no interference from overbearing ownersThere is a skipper in Pandya who believes that there is only one way to lead the team Itrsquos called lsquoThe Mahi Wayrsquo Batters win matches but bowlers win tournaments is an old saying and it couldnrsquot be more apt when one tracks Titansrsquo performance Mohammed Shami 28 wickets Rashid Khan 27 wickets and Mohit Sharma 24 wickets have executed plans more often than not and thus it has not really affected the Titans that second highest runscorer after Gillrsquos 851 runs is skipper Hardik Pandya 325 who is more than 500 runs behindWriddhiman Saha a keeperparexcellence would consider himself lucky that team management never thought of replacing him despite a strikerate of 127 opening the batting and only one fifty plus score in 16 knocks And herein Dhoni would try to seize the opportunity If they can get Gill our early none of the other batters have shown wherewithal to fight hard and bowlers would need a decent total on boardAlso Read GT vs CSK IPL 2023 Final Headtohead record preview and other important statsUnder Dhoni if players like Ajinkya Rahane 299 runs in 13 matches two fifties and Shivam Dube have found their groove this season young bowlers such as Sri Lankarsquos Pathirana 17 wickets in 15 matches and Indiarsquos uncapped Deshpande 21 wickets in 15 matches have also been able to find their feet at the IPL stageIn CSKrsquos batting lineup Devon Conway 625 runs in 15 matches six fifties and Ruturaj Gaikwad 564 runs in 15 matches four fifties have time and again provided CSK with resolute starts at the top The bighitting Dube 386 runs in 15 matches three fifties is the second jointhighest sixhitter for CSK in this IPL with 33 sixes joined by Gill in the list There are no clear favourites and it could be one of the finest finals in history of IPLWith PTI inputs