The yellow army’s unwavering support and a spirited performance from the Chennai Super Kings helped them book a berth in the TATA IPL 2023 final. It wasn’t our day in Chennai, but Gujarat Titans will now head to Qualifier 2 in a bid to reach the final. 

Earlier in the day, Hardik Pandya won the toss and asked the hosts to bat first. 

CSK openers got off to a brisk start with Ruturaj Gaikwad scoring bulk of the runs. They added 87 runs for the first wicket and kept the scorecard ticking, but right after the halfway mark, our bowlers shifted gears. 

Mohit Sharma, formerly a Purple Cap winner with CSK, returned to pick up the big wicket of Ruturaj Gaikwad. Almost instantly, Noor Ahmad weaved his magic around Devon Conway and foxed the Kiwi batter with a peach. Darshan Nalkande, playing his first match of the tournament, joined the act next, dismissing Ajinkya Rahane. 

Although there were a few boundaries being accumulated, our bowling attack managed to restrict Chennai batters from getting a big score. Mohit Sharma returned in the death overs to get the dangerous MS Dhoni, while Shami’s tight final over ended with Ravindra Jadeja’s stumps flying.

Our talismanic fast bowler further strengthened his grip on the Purple Cap, who now had 26 wickets this season. We returned to the dressing room with momentum on our side, as CSK finished with 172 for seven in 20 overs. 

On a track that kept slowing down, Shubman Gill kept his calm and held his nerve. Wriddhiman Saha and skipper Hardik Pandya got starts, but it wasn’t to be their day. Shubman continued to keep us in the hunt in the company of Dasun Shanaka, but the latter perished in an attempt to reverse-sweep Jadeja.

Our opener completed 3,500 runs in T20 cricket en route to a well-compiled 42 but just as he began to up the ante, he was caught at fine-leg in an attempt to clear the boundary. 

However, Vijay Shankar and Rashid Khan did not give it up. The duo collected 13 runs off the 16th over by Pathirana, followed by a massive 19-run over which saw Shankar and Rashid tonk a six each. That little momentum, though, vanished over the next couple of overs, with Shankar and Rashid departing in quick succession. 

We were bowled out for 157 runs in 20 overs and Chennai Super Kings won the match by 15 runs. Next up, we’ll be heading to Ahmedabad, where we will face the Lucknow Super Giants or Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2. 

Brief Scores 

Chennai Super Kings 172/7 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 60, Mohammad Shami 2/28) beat Gujarat Titans 157 all out in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 42, Rashid Khan 30)