Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has praised Ambati Rayudu for his contribution to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) IPL 2023 triumph. He also applauded captain MS Dhoni for using the veteran batter quite well. Rayudu announced prior to the IPL 2023 final that it would be his last game in the cash-rich league. Rayudu smashed 19 runs off eight balls in the title decider to play a key role in the run chase.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “Very few people have a trophy in hand after playing their final match. Dhoni used him very well this year, that he will be the Impact Player if they are batting second, and that he could opt not to field if they got to bat first. The last match he played, if Chennai won the tournament, his knock was extremely important. In fact, he struck two sixes and a four in the three balls before he got – 16 runs in three balls. You needed 10 runs off the last two balls. If he had scored only 10 runs in those three balls, you would have needed 16 off the last two balls, which couldn’t have been scored.”

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However, Ambati Rayudu smashed Mohit Sharma for two sixes and a four off the first three balls of the 13th over and kept them in the chase as well. Although CSK lost his and MS Dhoni’s wickets in consecutive balls after that, Ravindra Jadeja sealed the deal in the final two balls when they required 10 runs off the last two balls of the final over as well.

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“He picked up not one or two but six trophies – three for Mumbai and three for Chennai. He played important roles, he used to score runs in whichever position he got to bat. He played extremely well against spin, there is no doubt about that, but he was also very effective against fast bowling. He just understood how to score runs, how to play big shots, when to take chances and when not to,” Aakash Chopra concluded.