David Miller and Rashid Khan’s innings helped GT register a victory over CSK with just one ball and three wickets to spare. The Titans looked down and out of the contest, but Miller’s unbeaten 94 and Rashid’s 21-ball cameo of 40 towards the end sealed the deal for Gujarat.
Chennai batted first after Rashid Khan won the toss and chose to bowl. This was effective for Gujarat as the opposition got off to the worst possible start. They lost Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali early but both Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ambati Rayudu’s return to form helped the Super Kings recover from a bad position.
The pair had a brilliant 92-run stand before Rayudu went after scoring a good 42 off 31 balls. Gaikwad played fantastically for his 73 but he was also dismissed at the wrong time when Yash Dayal provided the breakthrough for the Titans during the 17th over.
In the end, it was Shivam Dube and CSK skipper Ravindra Jadeja who stitched a handy 38-run partnership to take the team to a total of 169 runs. Dube’s DRS decision to remain not out didn’t result in a big change as he ended up contributing only 19 runs off the 17 balls he faced. He would eventually be dismissed off the final delivery after trying to go for a second run, while Jadeja remained unbeaten with 22 off just a dozen deliveries.
Gujarat’s innings also didn’t start well as they lost their in-form opener Shubman Gill for a duck on the very first ball he faced. Vijay Shankar also failed yet another time as he too went for a duck. Another two wickets fell in a short span of time, and the Titans were strugging at 48-4 in just eight overs.
Miller and Rahul Tewatia then joined hands and made a useful 39-run partnership before Tewatia perished after trying to score big off the bowling of Dwayne Bravo. However, Miller continued his good form by attacking all the bowlers since he knew he had the ability to take his team across the finish line.
The South African was given great support by Khan, who played a great knock of 40 off just 21 balls, which included two fours and three maximums. He smashed 25 runs of Jordan’s over, which changed the complextion of the game completely.
Rashid was finally caught by Ali during Bravo’s most crucial 19th over. Bravo would also go on to pick the wicket of Alzarri Joseph, who came in next and thus marking Chennai’s comeback into the contest.
The equation was 13 to get off the final over, and CSK went ahead with Jordan to bowl the 20th over. He would bowl the first two balls well, but the third one would disappear for a maximum from the bat of Miller. The fourth ball he faced was caught at the short third man position only to be given no-ball.
It was above the waist which made him survive. The next free hit ball went towards the boundary, and Gujarat required just two runs to win off two balls. The fifth ball saw Miller and Lockie Ferguson go for the second run, and Jordan made a great attempt in taking the stumps off to deflect a run-out.
But the giant screen clearly showed that Ferguson was well in, which made GT win against CSK in this high-octane thriller. Miller remained unbeaten on 94 to get his team home, while Jordan was expensive, with his bowling figures reading 0/59 in 3.5 overs.
Brief scores
Chennai Super Kings 169-5 in 20 overs: (Gaikwad 73, Rayudu 46; Shami 4-0-20-1, Khan 4-0-29-0)
Gujarat Titans 170-7 in 19.5 overs: (Miller 94, Khan 40; Bravo 4-1-23-3, Choudhary 3-0-18-1)
GT won by seven wickets
