Live Report - Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings, Ahmedabad

1h ago

The IPL 2023 final between defending champions Gujarat Titans and four-time champions Chennai Super Kings has been pushed into its reserve day, which is tomorrow, by rain.

At around the time everybody was gearing up for the toss, the weather turned sour.

There was, maybe, a 10-minute window around 9pm when the endless rain cleared up and there was belief that a full game might take place.

But, even as hope was taking form, the storm came back and stayed through the night. The IPL playing conditions allow the final the luxury of a reserve day - tomorrow - and since no play took place today we will have a full game on Monday.

The forecast tomorrow includes some rain as well, but its in the hours leading into the game. The skies are supposed to clear up by 6pm. Then again, there wasn't supposed to be any rain this evening either.

The clock can go all the way to 9.35pm on game night - that's the cut-off for a full T20 game to take place. For a Five5, we can wait around till 12.06am. And then there's the Super Over shootout. If absolutely no play is possible, according to last year's IPL playing conditions, Gujarat Titans will be declared champions because they finished higher on the points table in the league stage

2h ago

2h ago

It's past 9.35 pm now. And according to the IPL's own playing conditions, we have started losing overs.

If the game starts tonight, it won't be a full game.

And if it stops midway after starting, forcing the reserve day in, we still won't get a full game.

Play will restart tomorrow from where it stopped today and it will remain a reduced affair

If game starts at 9.45 pm - 19 overs a side. If it starts at 10 pm - 17 overs a side. If it starts at 10.15 pm - 15 overs a side. If it starts at 10.30 pm - 15 overs a side. The cut-off for a five over game is 12.06 am tomorrow.

3h ago

... to HUUUUGE cheers from the fans.

We're still within the time allowed for a full game to take place.

The IPL final has a reserve day - its tomorrow. Even tonight, the clock can go all the way to 9.35pm tonight - that's the cut-off for a full T20 game to take place. For a Five5, we can wait around till 12.06am tomorrow. And then there's the Super Over shootout - but that will only come into play on the reserve day.

3h ago

Plenty of cheer among the fans braving the elements as they see the downpour fading. It's not completely gone but it's come down to the extent that they're all venturing back into the open-air seats. And about five minutes later they are sent scurrying back as the storm hits back with a vengeance.

It looks highly likely now that this game will be reduced from its full quota of 20 overs. In which case, this is what the IPL playing conditions state

Fits with this assessment from a weather expert named Navdeep Dahiya

The fans at the ground have rushed back to shelter.

4h ago

4h ago

India and Australia will be playing the World Test Championship final on June 7. Both teams have announced their squads.

And here's Australia, who their former captain and expert commentator Ian Chappell, says will go into the match as favourites because of a) the seam-friendly conditions at the Oval and b) the injuries to Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant.

While we wait for the game to start, why not enjoy curl up with a good feature story or two.

We also have a gallery put together by Srinidhi Ramanujam on CSK's various finals. Check out young Dhoni in the first pic!

5h ago

When the game does start - and trust me it will, Ahmedabad has excellent drainage, Qualifier 2 got under way 35 minutes after a storm not unlike this - all eyes will be on one man. No not that man. The other man. Shubman Gill. He had 41 men ahead of him on the six hitters list last season. This time it's only one. He is one century away from the most in an IPL season, and 100-odd runs away from the highest aggregate in an IPL season. He looks unstoppable.

Given the rain has come and the ground is all slick, both CSK and GT might give greater thought to batting first. Thats when the ball will have the most chance of being wet and when the ball is wet the bowlers are in trouble. They will struggle to grip it, which will hamper their ability to land it where they want, which will increase their chances of being hit to all parts. Ahmedabad is a very very sixer friendly ground.

But if the forecast is for more rain through the night, then it is likely they're just gonna chase and be done with it.

The IPL tends to be a bit immune to the elements. The second qualifier was hit by rain and we still got a full game. It is unlikely to be very different tonight. And even if it is, there is a reserve day for the final tomorrow. This is the showpiece event of the Indian cricket calendar. A little tantrum from a force of nature isn't going to disrupt it.

The clock can go all the way to 9.35pm tonight - that's the cut-off for a full T20 game to take place. For a Five5, we can wait around till 12.06am tomorrow. And then there's the Super Over shootout - but that will only come into play on the reserve day.

The crowd is pouring in. There were 75,655 people at hand to see the home side progress into the final two days ago. That figure is bound to be eclipsed here. Ahmedabad seats over 100,000. There is a strong chance every one of those seats will be taken. Except it has started to RAIN. Boo!

6 IPL titles for Rohit Sharma. No won has won this trophy more. Hardik Pandya will get to join him if Gujarat Titans are victorious tonight.

MS Dhoni, meanwhile, will join Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah. Ambati Rayudu (who is retiring at the end of this game), Kieron Pollard, Aditya Tare and of course Hardik on five IPL titles if he wins

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You can follow the ball-by-ball commentary in Hindi and in Tamil too.

So what will it be today? This grand day? The calendar says its the 28th day of the fifth month of the year 2023. We might come to know it later as the day he could finally rest.

None of us want it. He might even have taken notice of it. The Chennai Super Kings have gone all over the country and their yellow has taken over the grounds. Eden. Chinnaswamy. Even here in Ahmedabad at the start of all this. And, of course, his beloved Chennai

"To be frank, it is taking a heavy toll," MS Dhoni said the other night when asked if he might keep playing on for Chennai Super Kings. As ever, he kept us all guessing. If he goes all the way tonight, and wins himself a fifth IPL trophy, will it stoke his desire to stay, or will it persuade him to leave?

And if he does walk away, he will do so with the comfort of having given this sport and his teams his all. Even in defeat, if that happens tonight, he might look on with pride because the man who will ascend the steps to take the trophy is one that he helped make.

Hardik Pandya is every bit the MS Dhoni of this generation. Look at what leading the Gujarat Titans means to him in that video up there. Master and protege go head to head tonight for the second biggest prize in the cricket world. Or has the IPL trophy become the biggest? It gets the most eyeballs. It brings India to a standstill. It is the reason we don't sulk more when we don't win World Cups.

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