IPL 2023: Did not expect CSK to finish at the top, says Wasim Jaffer

Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer did not expect Chennai Super Kings to finish at the top. CSK won eight matches out of the 14 they played in the league stage of IPL 2023 to finish in second place in the points table.

The MS Dhoni-led team then qualified for the IPL final on the 10th occasion after beating reigning champions Gujarat Titans by 15 runs in the first qualifier. In fact, CSK finished in ninth place in IPL 2022 after they could only manage four wins in 14 games.

However, they were able to make a resounding comeback in the ongoing season and a lot of credit goes to the collective effort of the team. MS Dhoni has been able to get the best out of players like Shivam Dube, Ajinkya Rahane, and Tushar Deshpande.

Furthermore, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway delivered while opening the innings for CSK. Jaffer gave credit to MS Dhoni for getting the best out of the players.

“His planning is simple. We don’t see too many changes in their side. The maximum credit goes to MS Dhoni. To be honest, CSK did not look like a team that would have finished at the top,’ Jaffer said on Sportskeeda.

Jaffer added CSK’s bowling looked weak in the beginning but the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Matheesha Pathirana, and Tushar Deshpande were able to deliver for the team.

“In the beginning, it looked like their bowlers would struggle to make an impact outside Chennai. But still they finished second in the points table. That is MS Dhoni’s magic,” Jaffer said.

On the other hand, Jaffer added Gujarat Titans have better bowling options as they have quality spinners in Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed. Furthermore, Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma have done a majestic job for GT as they took 28 and 24 wickets respectively.

“Gujarat Titans have better options. They have two very good spin bowlers, have more depth in batting and will play home. I felt Gujarat Titans became a little overconfident in Qualifier 1, but they reverted to their old template, with Hardik Pandya bowling and Sai Sudharsan. If they follow that template, GT have a slight edge tonight,” Jaffer continued.

The IPL 2023 final will be played on Monday at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.