New Indian Premier League entrants GT registered a seven-wicket victory against the struggling defending champions. Gujarat have now won ten games this season, with one game still in hand, establishing a stranglehold on the top spot, which is now almost undoubtedly theirs to lose.
Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings’ shocking season also continued, with another tame performance in what has been a hugely disappointing season for the Yellow Army. The CSK batting was what disappointed this time around, as not a single batsman struck at above 125, something which almost always ends up being detrimental to a side in a T20 game. Their slip-ups resulted in the team only getting to 133, which was easily chased down by Hardik Pandya’s men.
Chennai skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first. The decision seemed sensible in the beginning, despite Devon Conway’s early dismissal. The Super Kings were also without Ambati Rayudu and Maheesh Theekshana, with Narayanan Jagadeesan and Matheesha Pathirana taking their places.
Moeen Ali walked in when Conway was dismissed. Ali showed intent early on, but the mighty impressive R Sai Kishore sent the Englishman back for 21. Jagadeesan and Gaikwad were handed the responsibility of setting Chennai up for the back end, even without a few key finishers.
However, that was not to be as although Jagadeesan and Gaikwad played well. They could not quite get a move on, which had a snowball effect on the rest of the innings. The inability to score quick boundaries ended up costing CSK, who finished on 133 in their 20 overs.
Gujarat faced absolutely no problem chasing down the modest target, with opener Wriddhiman Saha continuing his excellent form at the top. He struck boundaries for fun during the powerplay. Nevertheless, it was a one-man show from the Bengal veteran, as all of his partners suffered similar fates as their Chennai counterparts.
However, Saha was unrelenting, and despite the lack of quick runs, the fact that there was no scoreboard pressure worked in the Titans’ favour, as they wrapped up a seven-wicket victory, all but sealing the first-place finish. Saha finished on a wonderfully made 67* off 57 deliveries.
Brief scores
Gujarat Titans 137/3 (Saha-67*; Wade-20; Pathirana-2/24) beat Chennai Super Kings 133/5 (Gaikwad-53; Jagadeesan-39*; Shami-2/19) by seven wickets
