"They will go to the final" - Aakash Chopra picks CSK as one of the finalists after IPL 2023 win vs KKR

Aakash Chopra believes the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be one of the finalists in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023).

The four-time champions defeated the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 49 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, April 23. They set a mammoth 236-run target for the home team and restricted them to 186/8 to complete a comprehensive win and move to the top of the IPL 2023 points table.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that CSK will not only finish atop the points table but will also qualify for the title decider, reasoning:

"Chennai have won five of their seven matches now. To qualify, you need to win eight games, so you need to win three out of seven matches and a lot of home games are left and they are winning away from home."

The former KKR player added:

"They have defeated Mumbai in Mumbai, Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy and Kolkata in Kolkata. They have won three away matches. They have to play matches at home. They have full chances of finishing at No. 1 and the Qualifier 1 and Eliminator are at Chepauk, which means they will go to the final."

CSK will play four of their remaining seven games at home. Their only reversal in the three games they have played at Chepauk thus far was a narrow three-run defeat against the Rajasthan Royals.

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"They have given Dwayne Bravo's role to Matheesha Pathirana" - Aakash Chopra on CSK building a formidable unit

Matheesha Pathirana conceded just 27 runs in his four overs against KKR. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra pointed out that CSK have figured out bowlers who can bowl in different stages of the game, explaining:

"So I feel it is certain that they will reach the final. This team is not going to stop. They have given Dwayne Bravo's role to Matheesha Pathirana, have got Maheesh Theekshana to bowl at the death and made Akash Singh a new-ball bowler."

While highlighting Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube's exploits with the bat, the cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by crediting MS Dhoni for making the most of the available resources, stating:

"They have made Ajinkya Rahane a gun player and Shivam Dube doesn't take the name of stopping. Chennai - how do you do it? You are a different beast altogether, like the father of all teams. When it comes to doing an amazing job with limited resources, that's MS Dhoni for you."

CSK have been hit hard by the injury-enforced absence of some of their first-choice players like Ben Stokes, Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Choudhary and Sisanda Magala. However, the likes of Akash Singh and Tushar Deshpande in bowling, as well as Rahane and Dube in batting, have risen to the occasion and made up for their absence.