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Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bowl first against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Monday in the IPL 2023 final. The final was initially scheduled for Sunday but has been shifted to the reserve day as rain and hail storms lashed Ahmedabad last evening. Dhoni made his decision keeping the rain factor in mind, which may affect the contest later in the evening.
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"We'll bowl first with the rain forecast being around," Dhoni said. Dhoni during his chat with Ravi Shastri during the toss also acknowledged the love shown by the traveling CSK fans. The rain disrupted the proceedings last evening as the fans eagerly waited in the stadium, anticipating a rain-curtailed contest.
"As a cricketer, you always want to play. It was the crowd that suffered the most. Hopefully, we can entertain them," added Dhoni. Expressing his views on the pitch, Dhoni expects the contest to be a run fest. He also hoped the rain to remain away. He stated that a full 20 overs per side could do justice to a season finale.
"Pitch has been undercover for a long time, but throughout the tournament, the pitch has behaved well over here. Quite happy it will be a 20-over game we'll be playing. Serves justice to the tournament like this," the CSK skipper said.
IPL 2023 Final: Playing XIs
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya(c), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami | Substitutes: Joshua Little, Srikar Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Odean Smith, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Deepak Chahar, Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana | Substitutes: Shivam Dube, Mitchell Santner, Subhranshu Senapati, Shaik Rasheed, Akash Singh.