Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja turned into a match-winner in the early hours on Tuesday, hitting 10 runs off the final 2 balls to hand Gujarat Titans a 5-wicket defeat and help his side win the Indian Premier League title for the 5th time. After Jadeja hit the winning runs, Dhoni gave the star cricketer the biggest of hugs, lifting him up in the air as he ran towards him as CSK clinched the title. While there have been rumours over an alleged conflict between Dhoni and Jadeja, the latter's Instagram DP put all those talks to bed.
During the post-match talk, Jadeja dedicated the win to the 'Thala'.
"Feeling amazing winning fifth title in front of my home crowd. They've come in big numbers to support CSK. This crowd has been amazing. They were waiting for rain to stop till late night. Want to say big congratulations to CSK fans. Want to dedicate this win to one of the special members of our team - MS Dhoni. I was just thinking that I need to swing hard no matter what. Yeah anything can happen. I was looking to hit straight because Mohit can bowl slower ones. Want to say congratulations to each and every fan of CSK. Just keep cheering the way you've been cheering," said the all-rounder.
CSK head coach Stephen Fleming held special praise for Jadeja after the match, saying "Fairytales do exist in sports".
"They say there are no fairy tales in the sport, but it was a pretty good one today. It has been a bit difficult 18 months where, as the captaincy was difficult, the injury was difficult, it took a bit of time from out of the game for him to come back into and be reintegrated into the Test side, and then re-integrate into CSK," Fleming told media after the game.