Chennai Super Kings made off with a fifth Indian Premier League title on Monday night after Ravindra Jadeja orchestrated an extraordinary final-over win against Gujarat Titans.
Jadeja hit the last two balls from Mohit Sharma for a six and then four to steal the trophy.
Both the victor and the vanquished feature in our team of the tournament, which is dominant by players from the two finalists.
1. Shubman Gill (Gujarat Titans, 890 runs at 59.33, SR 157.80)
Three centuries to drive his team to within an ace of defending their title, and all scored with the utmost elegance.
2. Yashasvi Jaishwal (Rajasthan Royals, 625 runs at 48.07, SR 163.61)
His team might have imploded in the second half of the season, but the former pani puri seller shone throughout.
3. Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bangalore, 639 runs at 53.25, SR 139.82)
Finished with centuries in successive innings. Only Gill managed more than that across the whole season.
4. Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai Indians, 605 runs at 43.21, SR 181.13)
Could scarcely have done more to try to drag Mumbai back into the IPL winner’s circle, but they fell short.
5. Rinku Singh (Kolkata Knight Riders, 474 runs at 59.25, SR 149.52)
Gave the season its most indelible memory with the five consecutive sixes to beat Gujarat Titans.
6. Ravindra Jadeja (Chennai Super Kings, 20 wickets, econ 7.56; 190 runs, SR 142.85)
Both incisive and thrifty with the ball, and ice cool with the bat when needed in the final.
7. MS Dhoni (Chennai Super Kings, 104 runs at 26, SR 182.45)
Selected on the basis that him captaining almost guarantees success. And in the hope he will play on for one more year.
8. Rashid Khan (Gujurat Titans, 27 wickets at 20.44, econ 8.23; 130 runs, SR 216.66)
Brilliant as standard with the ball. His brutal batting was a bonus for the tournament runners up.
9. Tushar Deshpande (Chennai Super Kings, 21 wickets at 21.55, econ 9.92)
A net bowler for CSK when IPL was exiled to UAE in 2021, his wickets helped them become champions this time.
10. Mohammed Shami (Gujarat Titans, 28 wickets at 18.64, econ 8.03)
Gujarat had the three leading wicket-takers in the tournament. Shami was out front, ahead of Rashid Khan and Mohit Sharma.
11. Mohit Sharma (Gujarat Titans, 27 wickets at 13.37, econ 8.17)
Took a wicket every 9.81 deliveries he sent down, on average. Might have been the fall guy and the end, but was a hero until that point.
