New Delhi: The final of IPL 2023 between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans could not be played on May 28 (Sunday) due to heavy rains. It has been rescheduled. Now the match will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday evening. There is a possibility of rain on this day also. But if the match is of full 40 overs, then which team will benefit from the delay of one day, Chennai Super Kings or Gujarat Titans? This question will be in the mind of cricket fans.
The biggest advantage of the one-day final for Gujarat Titans was that its players got an extra 24 hours to rest. Because the Gujarat team had played the second qualifier on 26 May i.e. Friday itself and a day after that it had to play the final on Sunday. While Chennai Super Kings played Qualifier-1 on 23 May, in which Dhoni’s team defeated Gujarat Titans and booked the final ticket.
That is, CSK got 4 full days to prepare for the final. While Gujarat had to enter the final only after 1 day of playing Qualifier-2. But due to the delay due to rain, Gujarat got 1 extra day for rest.
Which team will benefit from the rain?
The IPL 2023 final between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans was to be played on the same wicket on which the second qualifier was played. The second qualifier between Gujarat and Mumbai was high scoring. Gujarat had scored 233 runs while batting first. Shubman Gill scored the third century of the season. He hit 10 sixes. Chasing the target, Mumbai Indians also scored 171 runs. That means the batsmen were batting. But, how will the mood of the pitch be after the rain on Sunday? This is a big question.
Chennai’s spin bowlers may suffer
Which team will benefit from the rain delay? During the discussion on ESPNcricinfo about this, former Australian veteran Tom Moody said that Chennai Super Kings will not be of many benefits. Because spin bowling is the strength of the team. Even if the ground is dried. Even then there will be slight moisture in the outfield.
In such a situation, whenever the ball goes to the outfield, it will affect the seam, and the spin bowlers will have difficulty in gripping and in this case, they will not be able to take advantage of the condition despite the wicket being dry. However, this problem will remain in Gujarat as well. Because he also has two spin bowlers in the form of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed and both have bowled well this season. But these are wrist spinners, who will not have that much difficulty in bowling.
Fast bowling is the strength of Gujarat
The top-3 bowlers who took the most wickets in this season of IPL are from Gujarat Titans only. Out of this both Mohammad Shami and Mohit Sharma are pacers. Shami has taken 28 wickets and Mohit has taken 24 wickets so far. Shami was wreaking havoc in the powerplay and Mohit was doing the same thing in the death overs. That means Gujarat’s strength is fast bowling. In such a situation, if there is even a little moisture in the pitch after the rain, both these bowlers can take advantage of it.
Pacers get help from Ahmedabad wicket
Anyway, the fast bowlers get some help in the beginning at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad. Especially for those fast bowlers who bowl seam and try to get an extra bounce. Now it will be interesting to see which team can take better advantage of the conditions.
