Ambati Rayudu's six on back foot during final was shot of the tournament for me: Mohammad Kaif

After 73 intense games, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 finally came to a thrilling conclusion at Narendra Modi Stadium with a last-over thriller between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Titans (GT). With their fifth championship, the MS Dhoni-led team is currently tied with the Mumbai Indians as the competition's most successful team in the previous 16 seasons. In a rain-curtailed run chase, CSK went on to chase the target of 171 runs on the final ball, courtesy of Ravindra Jadeja’s magnificent finishing touches. 

In the batting department for CSK, all the batters chipped in with crucial contributions. Citing this, former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif praised CSK star Ambati Rayudu for an important inning of 19 off 8 in the grand finale. Considering the fact that this was Rayudu’s last match, the 37-year-old came out all guns blazing smashing 16 runs in the first three balls that he played against Mohit Sharma.

Speaking on Star Sports' Cricket Live, Kaif also praised the former Indian batter and said that his inning was certainly a game-changing moment in the context of the game. The 42-year-old also went on to claim Rayudu’s six that he hit on the backfoot as the shot of the tournament. The right-hand batter also asserted that the shot was identical to the iconic six which Virat Kohli hit in the T20 World Cup against Pakistan.

Rayudu looked emotional but full credit to him for ending his IPL career on such a high: Kaif

"That impactful knock from Ambati Rayudu was the game-changing moment. His innings was very crucial in the context of the game. The six he hit going on the back foot was the shot of the tournament for me. It was identical to that iconic six which Virat Kohli hit in the T20 World Cup against Pakistan in Melbourne last year. Rayudu looked emotional but full credit to him for ending his IPL career on such a high," Kaif said.

The Andhra Pradesh-born batter had a phenomenal IPL career as in the 204 matches that he played, the right-hand batter went on to score 4348 runs including 22 half-centuries and one century.