Dominant Chennai Super Kings: Deepak Chahar struck two early blows including the early wicket of Gujarat Titans’ skipper Shubman Gill as Chennai Super Kings registered a massive 63-run victory in a rematch of the 2023 final in Match 7 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium here on Tuesday.
CSK came up with a clinical performance both with the bat and ball as they outplayed Gujarat Titans by 63 runs, getting them out for 143/8 in 20 overs to register their second successive victory at home. The Chennai pacers claimed six of the eight wickets to fall as they used the conditions well on a pitch that had slightly more grass than usual.
After a brilliant batting display by their top order helped them post 206/6, Chahar struck the deadly blow in the third over when he trapped Shubman Gill LBW as the ball pitched on the good length stayed a tad low and hit the Gujarat skipper on the pad. Gill reviews it but could not get it overturned as DRS goes with the umpire’s call.
The 2022 IPL winner lost their first wicket and the in-form batter for eight runs. As the pressure of the scoreboard mounted, Gujarat, who lost their first wicket for 28, failed to build any momentum in their chase of a massive target of 207 built by Chennai Super Kings riding on a 23-ball 51 by Shivam Dube, a 20-ball 46 by Rachin Ravindra and a 46 by Ruturaj Gaikwad off 35 balls.
Chahar (2-28 off 4 overs) also got Gujarat’s other opener, Wriddhiman Saha for 21 off 17, getting him to lob a catch to Tushar Deshpande as Gujarat slumped to 34/2 in the fifth over. Saha had started well, hitting four boundaries but could not score a big one as CSK maintained the same high intensity that they produced while batting.
Gujarat failed to recover from those setbacks and continued to lose wickets at regular intervals as Chennai bowlers did a splendid job while they also fielded and caught superbly to maintain the pressure on Gujarat Titans. Rachin Ravindra picked three well-judged catches while Ajinkya Rahane pulled off a brilliant diving catch to enthral thousands of CSK fans who packed the stadium.
Sai Sudharsan top-scored for Gujarat Titans with 37 off 31 balls, hitting three boundaries while David Miller struck a 16-ball 21 as both of them perished while trying to shore up the scoring rate. Gujarat Titans eventually finished with 143/8 in 20 overs.
While Chahar claimed 2-28 and Mustafizur Rahman, who continued to impress in CSK’s second match, took 2-30, Tushar Deshpande was the best bowler of the day for CSK with 2-21.
Gujarat Titans were thoroughly outplayed as their bowlers were hammered and they lost too many wickets in the Power-play (43/2). Chennai were relentless in their pursuit as their bowlers used the short ball well, varied the pace, and did not allow Gujarat Titans batters many opportunities.
Brief scores:
Chennai Super Kings 206/6 in 20 overs (Shivam Dune 51, Rachin Ravindra 46, Ruturaj Gaikwad 46; Rashid Khan 2-49) beat Gujarat Titans 143/8 in 20 overs (Sai Sudarshan 37, Wriddhiman Saha 21, David Miller 21; Tusddhar Deshpande 2-21, Deepak Chahar 2-28, Mustafizur Rahman 2-30) by 63 runs.