"It seems the entire tournament has been organized for MS Dhoni" - Aakash Chopra on CSK reaching their 10th IPL final

Aakash Chopra has said lightheartedly that the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023) seems to have been organized for MS Dhoni after the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper took his side to their 10th final in the tournament's 16-year history.

The four-time champions set a 173-run target for the Gujarat Titans (GT) after being asked to bat first in the Qualifier 1 clash in Chennai on Tuesday, May 23. Their bowlers then bowled out Hardik Pandya and Co. for 157 to help their team register a 15-run win and book their spot in the final.

While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that Dhoni's magical touch helped the Chennai Super Kings qualify for the final, elaborating:

"14 years, 10 finals, four trophies. It seems the 'P' in IPL means peela (yellow). Chennai once again did an amazing job and have reached another final. They are an incredible team. It is MS Dhoni's magic."

The former Indian opener added:

"This team is different. Mahi's magic is different. It seems the entire tournament has been organized for MS Dhoni this time. They finished ninth last year, finished second this year (in the league phase), and have now become the first team to reach the final. Take a bow Dhoni, you are amazing."

CSK have reached the final 10 times in the 14 seasons they have been a part of the league. They have failed to reach the playoffs on just two occasions, with Dhoni playing the final in IPL 2017 too when he was a part of the Rising Pune Supergiant.

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"Jaddu on these kind of surfaces is an absolute beast" - Aakash Chopra picks Ravindra Jadeja as his MVP for the CSK-GT clash

Ravindra Jadeja stood out with his all-round performance for CSK. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra chose Ravindra Jadeja as the most valuable player (MVP) of the game, reasoning:

"Who was the most valuable player of the match? In my opinion, it was Ravindra Jadeja. Jaddu on these kind of surfaces is an absolute beast. When it was their turn to bowl, how well he bowled - the way he dismissed David Miller and before that Dasun Shanaka."

The cricketer-turned-commentator was particularly appreciative of the CSK left-arm spinner for bowling a sharp-turning delivery to dismiss the dangerous David Miller, observing:

"Dasun Shanaka still tried to play an odd shot but David Miller - the ball spun. David Miller was promoted to finish the match. His numbers on this ground and against Chennai have been good but this time he couldn't do anything."

Chopra added that Jadeja played a crucial role with the bat too, stating:

"Before that, Ravindra Jadeja scored important runs with the bat as well because of which the team reached beyond 170. So in my opinion, the most valuable player has to be Ravindra Jadeja."

Jadeja scored 22 runs off 16 deliveries during CSK's innings. He then registered excellent figures of 2/18 in four overs to stifle the Gujarat Titans in their run chase.