Gujarat Titans 231 for 3 (Gill 104, Sai Sudharsan 103, Deshpande 2-33) beat Chennai Tremendous Kings 196 for 8 (Mitchell 63, Moeen 56, Mohit 3-31, Rashid 2-38) by 35 runs
Subsequent up, CSK face a super-quick turnaround: they may meet Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Sunday afternoon at Chepauk. They are going to then run right into a resurgent Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) of their final league fixture, in Bengaluru, on Might 18. The defeat to GT means their qualification for the playoffs would possibly come all the way down to web run-rates – CSK, although, nonetheless have the very best NRR among the many three groups with 12 factors – and yet another defeat may go away the defending champions teetering on the brink.
The Gill-Sudharsan opening salvo
It was Gill who made the early working when he took left-arm fingerspinner Mitchell Santner for a 4 and a six in a 14-run opening over. Then, within the remaining over of the powerplay, Gill performed what was arguably the shot of the day. When Simarjeet Singh bowled a innocent back-of-a-length supply on off, Gill used his items to make it appear like a nasty ball and imperiously swatted it over mid-on for six.
Sudharsan accelerated so rapidly that he and his captain had an identical scores on the finish of the sixteenth over: 96 off 48 balls. Gill was the primary to deliver up his hundred with a 4, and 4 balls later, Sudharsan joined him there with a six.
Deshpande, Thakur restrict harm on the dying
They saved hiding the ball away from the swinging arcs of the GT batters and allowed them to attain solely 41 runs off the final 5 overs. Just one boundary was scored off the final three overs, however the chase was at all times going to be a tall order for CSK.
CSK fail to maximise the powerplay
It turned much more tough for CSK once they had been decreased to 2 for two inside two overs. Rachin Ravindra, who was introduced again into the staff to beef up the highest order, was run out for 1. On the very subsequent ball, Sandeep Warrier bested Ajinkya Rahane within the battle of the Affect Gamers. Rahane fell for one off 5 balls.
Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, who had slid all the way down to No. 3, then picked out one of many solely two males on the boundary, off Umesh Yadav for a duck. The early strikes prevented CSK from taking extra dangers they usually managed solely 43 for 3 within the powerplay.
Mitchell, Moeen flip up the tempo
On the different finish, Moeen struggled to select Rashid’s variations however he lined up Noor Ahmad, the left-arm wristspinner, and walloped him for 3 successive sixes to start out the eleventh over.
Mohit closes it out for GT
At 119 for 3 in 12 overs, CSK had been in with an opportunity till Mohit Sharma’s intervention. Mohit struck along with his second ball, a well-disguised knuckle ball, which tricked Mitchell into skying a catch to long-off for 63 off 34 balls. In his subsequent over, he dug an on-pace supply into the floor and had Moeen holing out for 56 off 36 balls.
Mohit additionally snagged Shivam Dube for 21 off 13 balls and got here away with 3 for 31 – the very best figures on the day.
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
