'MS Dhoni and Reserve Day': Bitter Memories of 2019 WC Semi-final Revived After IPL Final Rescheduled

With the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) final being moved to the reserved day after relentless rains delayed the toss and subsequently did not allow the start of the summit showdown between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Titans (GT) at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Fans on Monday had flashbacks of the 2019 ICC ODI World Cup semi-final between India and New Zealand. That match too had to be moved to ‘Reserve Day’ because of rain on the scheduled day. When the match finally was played, New Zealand went on to outclass India as the ODI ended up becoming Dhoni’s last in the Indian jersey, with him retiring retire from international cricket a few months later.

GT vs CSK, IPL 2023 Final Weather LIVE

With the IPL 2023 final also heading into a Reserve Day too, fans speculated that it may be Dhoni’s last match in the IPL too.

When Dhoni was asked about his plans by Harsha Bhogle after IPL 2023 Qualifier 1, the CSK skipper said: “I don’t know. I have 8-9 months to decide. The small auction will be around December. So why to take that headache right now? I have ample time to decide. But, I will always be there for CSK whether it’s in the playing form or sitting somewhere outside. I don’t really know."

As per the rules, the IPL final will have a reserve day Monday, May 29 in this year’s case in case the match is not able to start by the 12:06 AM cut-off time, in which case there will be a five-overs per-side contest.

There are no such predictions of rain here on Monday, which means that there is a full possibility of a 20-20 over match.

(With inputs from Agencies)