The champions of the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League 2023 will be crowned on Sunday. The massive clash is scheduled to take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Defending Champions, Gujarat Titans would hope to retain the trophy that they won last year. This time they are against the 4 times Champion, Chennai Super Kings under the leadership of MS Dhoni. The stage was set for an amazing GT vs CSK IPL 2023 Final clash but didn't go as planned. The toss was delayed due to heavy rain in Ahmedabad.

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The same two teams faced each other in Qualifier 1. Dhoni's men clinched the victory comfortably and booked their tickets for the Final directly. However, Gujarat Titans defeated Mumbai Indians in the Qualifier 2 and secured their spot in the Final two consecutive times.

GT vs CSK: Is there a Reserve Day if the IPL 2023 final gets abandoned?

There is a reserve day if play is not possible on Sunday. In case of a match, the cut-off is 9:35 PM after which overs will be deducted. The cut-off for a 5-over game is 12:06 AM.

The IPL rule book clearly states, "For the Eliminator and each Qualifier playoff matches (where there is no reserve day), in the event that it is not possible to schedule a 5 over match to complete by the end of the extra time on an original day, the teams will, if conditions permit, play a Super Over to determine the winner of the relevant Eliminator or Qualifier match. This means that the pitch and ground must be ready for play so that the Super Over can start at the latest by 12.50 am."

The cut-off for a super over

The tournament will be decided by the super over in case of further delay. The rules explained, "For the Final, in the event that it is not possible to schedule a 5 over match to be completed by the end of the extra time on the reserve day, the teams will, if conditions permit, play a Super Over to determine the winner of the final. This means that the pitch and ground must be ready for play so that the Super Over can start at the latest by 1.20 am (Final)."

It is an advantage for Gujarat Titans if the final is completely abandoned. The defending champions, Gujarat Titans will win the title because of their consistent and brilliant performance in the group stages. Chennai Super Kings were also very consistent but not as good as them. The rule states - "In the event that it is not possible to start the Super Over as described in paragraphs 8 and 9 or to then complete the Super Over without interruption, the team that finished highest in the league table after the 70 matches of the regular season shall be declared the winner of the relevant playoff match or final."

On this day, exactly 10 years ago, Virat Kohli was given the captaincy of the Indian Test team. He took over the responsibility of captaining the Indian Test team after Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Kohli captained the Indian Test team for almost 8 years, and Rohit Sharma has been leading India in Test cricket since 2022.

Also Read: Virat Kohl's scores in last 10 Test innings

Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni are the captains who have won the ICC trophy for India. On the other side, Virat Kohli could never win an ICC tournament as captain. However, when the discussion is about Test cricket, as a leader he appears miles ahead of both Dhoni and Rohit.

On this day, let us know what heights he touched in red-ball cricket and why Kohli's legacy as Test captain remains an example even today.

India lost only 17 tests under Virat's captaincy

Under Kohli's captaincy, Team India played 68 Tests, out of which it won 40 and lost 17 matches. Whereas 11 tests ended in a draw. In this way, Virat Kohli's tenure as Test captain was very successful. Kohli has been the most successful Indian Test captain.

Kohli also performed brilliantly as a batsman, especially on the pitches of countries like Australia, South Africa, England, and New Zealand.

Kohli's legacy as Test captain on Indian soil

Virat Kohli took over the Test captaincy in late 2014 and led the team in 31 home Tests. Under his leadership, India emerged victorious in 24 matches, while suffering only 2 losses, one against Australia and another against England.

India won the test series in Australia for the first time

In the year 2018-19, Team India had to go to Australia to play the Border Gavaskar Trophy, no one expected that the Team would do anything special on this tour. But, Virat had his eyes only on the trophy. 

Kohli led India to a 2-1 victory in this series with his attacking captaincy. In which the victories in Adelaide and Melbourne were historic, and Virat also became the first Indian and Asian captain to win a Test series in Australia.

Also Read: Top 5 Records of Virat Kohli that might never be broken

Virat Kohli's records in Test cricket

Currently, Kohli is playing in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. He has played 120 Test matches so far, in which he has scored 9163 runs in 205 innings at an average of 47.72. During this period he has also scored 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries. His highest score in Test cricket has been 254* runs.

Harbhajan Singh, the former Indian spinner took a dig at the Australian cricket team remembering the horrific umpiring during the 2007/08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. During the Hindi commentary stint on Day 2 of the Pink Ball test at Adelaide, Harbhajan Singh did not waste the opportunity to criticise the umpiring Indian cricket faced in Down Under during that series.

Australia won the 2007/08 Border-Gavaskar Series by 2-1 in the four-test match series. However, the umpiring of Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson was highlighted throughout the series, especially during the Sydney test. 

The Aussies outplayed India in the first test at Melbourne where Matthew Hayden scored a sublime ton in the first inning. They won the test match by 337 runs to go 1-0 up in the series. 

But, the Indian team bounced back with a solid in the second test in Sydney. However, despite a brilliant show by the Indian batters and bowlers, India lost by 122 runs, especially due to dreadful umpiring by Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson. 

First, Ricky Ponting had nicked off a delivery down the leg side and despite a big sound, Benson did not give him out. Later, Sourav Ganguly's edge was not taken cleanly and umpire Mark Benson gave that out despite the replay showing the opposite. 

Andrew Symonds, who was the player of the match in the second test, was clearly caught behind by MS Dhoni off Ishant Sharma's bowling but was not given out.  MS Dhoni stumped out Symonds from Anil Kumble's bowling, but Steve Bucknor did not even bother to check the stumping with the third umpire. 

The umpiring was so bad that Indian Express reported the match "India caught Benson, bowled Bucknor." 

When the topic is umpiring during the 2007-08 #BorderGavaskarTrophy, @harbhajan_singh doesn't hold back! 🫣#AUSvINDOnStar 2nd Test, Day 2 👉 LIVE NOW! | #ToughestRivalry pic.twitter.com/Y7PDGLJHMA

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 7, 2024

While remembering all these decisions, Harbhajan Singh did not hold himself by mentioning that Steve Bucknor made his debut for Australia in that test and he was the 12th man for Australia in that test match.

Despite going down, India won the third test by 72 runs in Brisbane. However, India could not draw the series as the final test of the series at Adelaide was drawn. 

Virat Kohli’s unusual dismissal in the Australia vs India 2nd Test in Adelaide has raised concerns over his current form. This year has been challenging for him. Virat scored a brilliant century (100* off 143) in the Perth Test, he scored his last Test half-century (70) against New Zealand in October 2024 in the first Test of the home series. But apart from these knocks, he has endured a disappointing season so far.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma's scores in last 10 Test innings

In the Perth Test, Virat Kohli scored a century after a long time. After this, the fans were hopeful that Kohli would continue his form in Adelaide also, but he proved to be a flop in front of the pink ball. Virat Kohli had scored only 7 and 11 runs in the first and second innings of the Adelaide Test respectively.

Notably, Virat Kohli's figures at the Adelaide Oval ground are quite impressive, but this time Virat's bat remained quiet in Adelaide. Kohli scored only 18 runs in both the innings of this match, which is Kohli's lowest score in a Test match in Australia in the last 12 years. That means he had scored more than 18 runs in every test match played in Australia in the last 12 years. Due to this poor performance, Kohli's average in Test cricket has also declined. Virat's average in Tests is now 47.72. Before this match, his average was 48.13.

To evaluate King Kohli's performance, it’s important to examine Virat Kohli's scores in the last 10 Test innings and analyze what the statistics reveal.

Virat Kohl's scores | Last 10 innings

In the last 10 innings, Virat Kohli's scores have been 7, 11, 5, 100*, 4, 1, 1, 17, 0, and 70.  Virat is under pressure to prove once again that he is India’s top batter across all formats. He needs to convert his starts into substantial knocks to improve his low Test average this year.

Also Read: Most five-wicket hauls amongst left-arm pacers in Tests

Virat Kohli's Test Career

Virat Kohli has played 120 matches so far in his Test career and has scored 9,163 runs, with an average of 47.72. Kohli has hit 1022 fours and 30 sixes in his Test career.

Kohli has scored 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries with his bat in the longest format. His best score has been 254* and he has scored the most runs (2,165) in his Test career against Australia.

Australia has taken a huge lead of 157 runs over India by scoring 337 runs in its first innings on the second day of the second Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. For Australia, Travis Head scored a brilliant 140 runs, while Marnus Labuschagne made an important contribution of 64 runs. From India, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj bowled brilliantly and took four wickets each. Both of them together took 8 wickets in their name.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma's scores in last 10 Test innings

India won the toss and elected to bat first, which backfired as Mitchell Starc turned into a monster with the pink ball and ran through India's batting line-up. India were bowled out for 180 runs and Starc picked up six wickets to his name. Australia, however, looked the opposite of India with the bat as they seemed untroubled by Indian bowlers. 

Travis Head's aggressive century

With Travis Head's aggressive century, Australia took a huge lead of 152 runs over India by scoring 332 runs for eight wickets till the dinner break in its first innings on Saturday, the second day of the second Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Head, who opened his account with a brilliant four against Jasprit Bumrah (four wickets for 59 runs) on the second day of the day-night Test match, completed the eighth century of his Test career in 111 balls. Mohammad Siraj gave him life by taking a catch on Ashwin's ball at the score of 76 runs.

Head was troubled by Bumrah's balls in the beginning of the innings but he did not let the pressure dominate him by continuing to score runs by attacking other bowlers.

Brilliant fifty by Labuschagne 

Marnus Labuschagne was not in form for a long time and before this match, there was debate about his place in the team. He had started troubling India with the 26th half-century of his Test career when Yashasvi Jaiswal took a brilliant catch on the ball of young all-rounder Nitish Reddy and ended his innings.

While experienced Steve Smith (two), who came to the crease, failed even once with the bat. He was caught by Pant while trying to flick the ball of Bumrah.

Also Read: Most five-wicket hauls amongst left-arm pacers in Tests

Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma are at the crease

At present, the play of the third session of the second day of the day-night test is going on in Adelaide. India scored 100 runs at the loss of 4 wickets in the second innings. Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma are at the crease. KL Rahul was out after scoring 7 runs, Virat Kohli 11, Shubhman Gill 28 and Yashasvi Jaiswal 24 runs. Scott Boland got 2 wickets. Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc got 1-1 success.

In the second Test being played between India and Australia, the Indian captain Rohit Sharma was out after scoring just 3 runs off 23 balls in the first innings. He was dismissed by Scott Boland in the first inning, which raised the question on his test form again.

In the last 11 Test innings, Rohit has not been able to score any big runs. Rohit was unavailable for the first test and joined the team for the second test after the birth of his new born son. However, he was not back at his favourite position as KL Rahul's good show at the top of the order made him come down to middle order for the pink ball test.

Also Read: Most five-wicket hauls amongst left-arm pacers in Tests

To evaluate Hitman’s performance, it’s important to examine Rohit Sharma's scores in the last 10 Test innings and analyze what the statistics reveal.

Rohit Sharma's scores | Last 10 Matches

In the last 11 innings, Rohit Sharma's scores have been 6, 5, 23, 8, 2, 52, 0, 8,18, 11, and 3. During this period his average has been only 12.36. He scored his last Test century (103) against England in March 2024 in the fifth Test of the home series. 

37-year-old batter has played 12 tests in the year 2024 and only scored 91 runs in 22 innings at an average of 28.14 with 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries to his name. Rohit needs to improve his performance to prove that he still has cricket left in him and can be an asset in the crucial Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2025.

Read Also: Most Runs for India in Pink Ball Test

Rohit Sharma's Test Career

Rohit played his first test match in 2013 against the West Indies. He has played 65 matches for India so far and scored 4,273 runs in 112 innings at an average of 41.89.

He has scored 12 centuries and 18 half-centuries with his bat in the longest format. His best score has been 212and he has scored the most runs (1,1147) in his Test career against England.