Gujarat Titans VS Chennai Super Kings | Match 29

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Match 29, Apr 17 2022, Sunday - 07:30 PM (IST)

Gujarat Titans Vs Chennai Super Kings

Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune

Match Info
Match	GT vs CSK, 29th Match, Indian Premier League 2022
Date	Sunday, April 17, 2022
Time	7:30 PM
Venue	Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune

 

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The Overview

Gujarat Titans - the newcomers in IPL could well feel things are far too easy in the league. Chennai Super Kings - the battle-hardened veterans - on the other hand, know things don't come easy at all. It's been a nightmarish start to the captaincy for Ravindra Jadeja but their win against Royal Challengers Bangalore should soothe some of the early wounds.

However, as they prepare to take on table-toppers Titans, there are plenty of areas that need tightening. Rututaj Gaikwad hasn't been able to bat past the powerplay this season so far. Moeen Ali too hasn't been able to create the kind of batting impact that worked for CSK in the India leg last season. For now, Robin Uthappa and Shivam Dube are running the show for CSK with the bat. In Maheesh Theekshana, they found a wicket-taker, which they've badly needed this season.

The challenge against Titans will not be easy. There's a feeling that the Titans bowling unit is just about finding its rhythm. Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson and Hardik Pandya have done the job on different occasions and could prove hard to deal with for a brittle CSK line-up that has had several misfiring batters. The one weak link so far for the Titans has been at the top of the order. Matthew Wade's form and Vijay Shankar's poor returns have been somewhat hidden by the knocks produced by Shubman Gill and Pandya.

With five matches already done, CSK need to build on the previous win and string together a few clinical performances. Titans, on the other hand, have an opportunity to distance themselves from the chasing pack at the top.

When: Sunday, April 17 at 19:30 IST

Where: Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune

What to expect: In Pune, three of the five IPL 2022 matches have been won by the team batting first. The venue has been kind to the bowlers in the second innings, with dew not hampering their plans. CSK have a good record at the venue, with six wins in eight outings.

Team Watch

Gujarat Titans

Tactics and Matchups: Titans have picked the most number of wickets in the powerplay (12) so far in the season. Given Gaikwad, Uthappa and Moeen have a good record against Rashid - with all three batters able to score freely against the legspinner - early wickets is going to be key for the Titans. While Shami has struggled in the opening six overs after the game against Lucknow Super Giants, Ferguson has made up for the lack of penetration with his crucial strikes.

Probable XI: Matthew Wade (wk), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Yash Dayal

Chennai Super Kings

Unavailable: Deepak Chahar (ruled out of the tournament)

Tactics and Matchups: Dube has struck at 159 in overs between 7 and 15 for CSK this season. He has a strike rate of 199.28 against pacers, while taking down the spinners at 155.93. Titans will look to throw Dube a Rashid Khan challenge, who he has faced only for six pballs previously.

Probable XI: Robin Uthappa, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Dwayne Bravo, Chris Jordan, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary.

Did you know?

- Dube already has 207 runs this season - just 24 short of his previous best full-season tally.

- Ferguson has 10 wickets in the powerplay since IPL 2021 with a strike rate of 10.80 and an economy of 7.11

What they said:

"The way Hardik has led the team, the way he has kept the team environment, inside and outside the field has been amazing so far. He is someone who always takes that brave decisions, always has confidence and he is someone who is very clear in mind on what he is going to do. This is an important thing as a captain when your mind is clear, and you take right decisions, the result will take (care) by itself" - Rashid Khan.

Squads:

Chennai Super Kings Squad: Robin Uthappa, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja(c), MS Dhoni(w), Dwayne Bravo, Chris Jordan, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary, Adam Milne, Dwaine Pretorius, Devon Conway, Mitchell Santner, Tushar Deshpande, Hari Nishanth, N Jagadeesan, Subhranshu Senapati, Prashant Solanki, KM Asif, Simarjeet Singh, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Bhagath Varma

Gujarat Titans Squad: Matthew Wade(w), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya(c), David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Yash Dayal, Wriddhiman Saha, Pradeep Sangwan, Varun Aaron, Jayant Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Alzarri Joseph, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Darshan Nalkande, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Dominic Drakes, Sai Sudharsan, Noor Ahmad

 

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Teams:

Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Robin Uthappa, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja(c), MS Dhoni(w), Dwayne Bravo, Chris Jordan, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan(c), Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Shami

Jadeja: We would have bowled first as well. Now we will look to put a good score on the board and put pressure on them. After the last game we had a day off and back to basics with the training and stuff. Same team for us.

Rashid: We would like to bowl first. Bit of stiffness in the groin area for Hardik, so as a team we didn't want to take a chance. He will rest and hopefully be back for the next game. Super excited, it's kind of a dream. So I just want to learn as much as I can and give 100 percent. Matthew Wade is out and Saha is in. It's just to balance it out as Hardik is absent.

Gujarat Titans have won the toss and have opted to field

Rashid Khan is leading GT today.

Wriddhiman Saha and Alzzari Joseph have been handed their caps. So two debutants for GT tonight

Pitch report: Gujarat played DC on this pitch a couple of weeks ago, made 171 and won the game. Teams batting first have won thrice here. It's a used surface and there's a covering of grass. There's a bit of scarring on the surface. You need to hit the surface and let it work for you. The CSK bowlers need to pitch it up and get some swing and also need to take the pace off. The Gujarat Titans bowlers can hit the deck around back of a length and extract some help from the grass on the wicket. If I were CSK I would at bat first and hope to get a big score and defend, but I were GT I am going the complete opposite way... bowl first and restrict, reckons Nick Knight.

18:30 local time: Defending champions - Chennai Super Kings who finally managed to get their first win of the season after four successive losses will take on Gujarat Titans - the new entrants, in the second match of the day. Hardik Pandya played a fantastic knock against Rajasthan Royals as the Titans registered their fourth win of the season to climb to the top spot in the points table. The Super Kings too after that win against Royal Challengers Bangalore will be riding high on confidence. Barring Uthappa and Dube, most of their batters have struggled to get going this season, hence they have been on the losing side more often than not. Also, Deepak Chahar's absence hasn't helped CSK's cause as their bowlers haven't been able to take wickets upfront. The toss and teams are not far away, stay tuned for all the updates..

 

[Addicted]

CSK lost momentum after Rayudu's wicket. They looked set to get 190+ but Dube struggled to middle the ball. If not for those two sixes from Jadeja it could have looked worse. One big plus for CSK is Ruturaj getting some quality runs today to ease top-order woes. Rolled the clock back with some of his shots. Theekshana again did a great job in the powerplay, so those are the two biggest positives out of this game for CSK. It will be interesting to see if Wade returns once Hardik is back. With the lack of runs Vijay Shankar is under huge pressure of losing his spot too. But whatever said, Gujarat Titans have stunned quite a few with their performances thus far. Not many spoke highly of them after the auction. Now they are a team to beat. A team that knows their limitations and plays to their strengths. One batter ensures he bats deep and they get a good score on the board/chase it down with a good bowling line-up their sleeve. That's that from this game. We move to the Brabourne tomorrow for Sanju v Shreyas. Get a good night's rest and join us back in the evening. Tata!

David Miller has been so good for South Africa in last few years with their side losing the big guns. Has finished some games brilliantly even batting with the lower-order. He showed his class and experience today. Targetted the bowlers and the short boundary and middled the ball from the word go even on a slowish pitch. Did struggle a bit against Bravo but didn't panic and saw his side through. How good was Rashid at the other end? "Why doesn't he bat higher," has always been a question unanswered for the fans even when he plays for Afghanistan. But he used all the experiences playing in different leagues and for the country to keep calm and let those wrists take his side close. If that finish from Tewatia against Odean Smith was good, this finish from nowhere is even better.

David Miller | Player of the Match: I have been really working hard on my fitness. It does take me back to memory lane [referring to the innings he played for KXIP], it was sort of play my game, see ball hit ball, with the rate already quite high, I wanted to express myself. It came off tonight and pretty chuffed with the innings. Getting in with the position at 16/3 gives me an opportunity to shine, doesn't happen too often but when the ball was new it helps. Releases a lot of pressure, needed someone to help out at the back end. Exceptional over, in my opinion that over was the game-changer and he struck it beautifully [on Rashid Khan's batting]. The first couple of games we got over the line with close wins, we could've probably lost 4 out of 6 rather than win 5 of 6. The dice rolled on our side and hopefully it continues going forward.

Rashid Khan | Winning captain: It's an amazing feeling in IPL, it's a dream come true to lead the team, and delivering that is something special. Just that we wanted to take the game deep. We were capable of chasing 90 runs in the last 7 overs, and that was the plan. We were trying to take the game as deep as possible. I haven't batted in the first 5 games, that was the discussion, so I wanted to take the responsibility. We wanted two batters to score big, I just had a discussion with Miller and we tried to strike the ball hard. I needed to step up and take the responsibility, just wanted to back myself and that was the plan.

Abhinav Manohar: Miller played a blinder, and so did Rashid. I was sitting in the same place, I didn't move. It was a great team effort today. Lots of pressure for Rashid today, he bowled well. There is no pressure from the management, I just want to go out there and express myself, so I am enjoying myself.

Ravindra Jadeja | Losing captain: We started brilliantly, as a bowling unit we did well in the first 6 overs. When we were batting, the wicket was holding up a bit. The ball was gripping, but we didn't execute our plans in the last 5 overs. I thought CJ could execute his yorkers, but he couldn't do so. That's the beauty of T20 cricket.

Highest scores for players batting #5 or below in IPL

103*B Stokes RPS v GL Pune 2017
101*D Miller PBKS v RCB Mohali 2013
100 Y Pathan RR v MI Mumbai BS 2010
94*D Miller GT v CSK Pune 2022

Most expensive figures for CSK in IPL

0/62(4) L Ngidi v MI Delhi 2021
0/58(3.5) C Jordan v GT Pune 2022 *
0/58(4) S Curran v KKR Mumbai WS 2021
1/58(4) M Sharma v SRH Hyderabad 2015

23:15 Local Time, 17:45 GMT, 23:15 IST: No Hardik Pandya today, team tottering at 87/5 in the 13th over with Miller being the only recognized batter left at the crease. But in came captain Rashid. Smacked Jordan for 6 6 4 6 in the 18th over to stun CSK. DJ Bravo was outstanding at one end with slower balls and variation in lengths, but Gujarat calculated those two weak overs at the death from Jordan and robbed the game off CSK's bag. "Gentle strokes in the beginning, release at the end," said David Miller before the start of the game. That's exactly what he did in the middle. He targetted the bowlers so well as he wasn't picking Bravo all that well. Waited for the rest and smashed the ball to all corners. He did play a blinder for KXIP against RCB a number of years ago in Mohali, this now is one of his best recently. CSK paying the price for not having a great pairing with Bravo at the death. Jordan over Pretorius always raised eyebrows. Sure Jordan is a good death bowler, but Pretorious has been outstanding recently for South Africa with his stunning variations at the end. We saw even the best struggle against him in the World Cup and he did bowl an outstanding spell with a soaking wet ball in a high-scorer against LSG. If not for an injury, the axing of Pretorius was interesting.

 

[Addicted]

CSK 169/5 (20)
GT 170/7 (19.5)

Gujarat Titans won by 3 wkts

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
David Miller