Chennai Super Kings (CSK) welcome Gujarat Titans (GT) in Match 7 of the Indian Premier League 2024 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium today (Tuesday). Both teams will meet for the first time since the nail-biting final last year when CSK won a last-ball thriller to lift a record-equalling fifth IPL title.
The Yellow Army had prevailed on the reserve day as Ravindra Jadeja provided a grandstand finish, hitting a maximum and a four with 10 needed off the last two deliveries to seal a dramatic win and prevent GT from defending their title.
A lot has changed since the 2023 season finale. Hardik Pandya, who led GT to two successive finals, has shifted to Mumbai, his former franchise, as the team leader. At CSK, MS Dhoni, the captain with five title triumphs, has stepped down as skipper, marking an end to a golden era.
New season, new captains but same ambition
When Hardik departed for Mumbai, Shubman Gill was the automatic choice to lead GT. The young India batter had hit eight centuries till May last year, including a double hundred in international cricket, a century in T20Is and three tons in IPL 2023. He finished the season as the leading run-getter with a whopping 890 runs at a superb average of 59.33 and a strike rate of 157.80.
At 24, he might be the youngest captain in the tournament. But matured cricketer with head coach Ashish Nehra by his side, Gill has the potential to become a good captain.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, elevated to the captaincy role as Dhoni’s successor on the eve of the season-opener, has impressed on his captaincy debut under the guidance of Chennai's talisman as CSK cruised to a six-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the season opener.
Gill too enjoyed a winning start as GT skipper with a six-run win against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, March 24.
Both teams might have new leaders at the helm but with multiple mechanisms to wire a champion sides, GT and CSK are primed for another successful campaign.
Pathirana to strengthen CSK bowling
Despite restricting RCB to 78/5, CSK had allowed Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik to stitch a 95-run stand and post a decent total. Tushar Deshpande was the weak link in the bowling department in the last match.
Mustafizur Rahman, who picked up four wickets on his debut, could see the fit-again Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana as his bowling partner today. Shardul Thakur and Mukesh Chaudhary are other possible names for bowling department.
GT eye improvement in batting
Titans should thank their bowlers for bailing them out against MI. None of the batters converted their starts against MI and if the 2022 champions want to make it to the play-offs for the third successive year, they must fix the issue immediately.
Gill and seasoned wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha must shed their cautious approach with at least one looking to attack from the onset to capitalise in the powerplay. That would allow Sai Sudarshan, Azmatullah Omarzai, David Miller and Rahul Tewatia to bat more freely in the middle overs.
Five Tamil Nadu Players in GT ranks
Defending champions CSK have no name in their ranks from their home State. But there will be five Tamil Nadu players – Sai Sudharsan, Sai Kishore, Vijay Shankar, Shahrukh Khan and Sandeep Warrier – in the GT dugout.
CSK vs GT Head to Head
GT have won on three occasions in their five meetings with CSK till date whereas the latter have won the other two, including the all-important IPL final last year. CSK, however, enjoy a formidable record at the Chepauk, having won 46 of their 65 matches at home against 18 losses. GT lost their only game at CSK’s home ground.
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangarkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Chaudhary, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, and Aravelly Avanish Rao (wk).
Gujarat Titans: Shubhman Gill (c), David Miller, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudarshan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmed, Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma, Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar, Spencer Johnson, Sandeep Warrier, BR Sharath.
