IPL 2023: 'MS Dhoni with his mind...' Hardik Pandya on CSK captain after Qualifier 1 loss

MS Dhoni and his ability to use bowler in the chase made it difficult for Gujarat Titans to chase down a total of 173 for Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2023, said the losing side's captain Hardik Pandya at the post-match presentation ceremony.

After Ruturaj Gaikwad's 60 took Chennai Super Kings to 172/7 in 20 overs, Gujarat Titan's innings folded at 157 by the end of the entire quota of overs as CSK bowlers made the best use of the surface. Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya felt MS Dhoni with his captaincy made the total even bigger.

"That's the beauty about him (Dhoni), with his mind and the way he uses the bowlers, it feels like he's adding 10 runs," said Pandya. "We kept losing wickets, he kept changing the bowlers, credit to him. Would be nice to meet him on Sunday."

Speaking further on the game, Pandya said his bowlers did a good job on the day to contain runs after CSK openers provided a good start but felt gave away freebies to CSK's lower order to capitalise at the end.

"I think we were quite spot-on (with the ball), but we made basic errors and that costed us the game. The kind of bowlers we had, I felt we conceded 15 extra runs. A lot of things, we did right. We bowled a couple of soft balls in between. We gave some runs. We don't need to look much into it. We have one more game (sic)," said Pandya.

Gujarat Titans will have another shot at reaching the final as they will take on winners of the IPL 2023 Eliminator match between Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2. Eliminator 1 is slated in Chennai on May 24 while Qualifier 2 will be played at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on May 26 (Friday). The latter venue will also host the final on May 28.