Gujarat's Titanic

CHENNAI: Chennai Super Kings booked a berth in the Indian Premier League 2023 final after defeating reigning champion Gujarat Titans by 15 runs in Qualifier 1 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Tuesday.

Chennai, which was invited to bat first, put 172 for seven on the board on a challenging surface, riding on an excellent half-century from opener Ruturaj Gaikwad. CSK then bundled GT out for 157, courtesy of a disciplined bowling performance that was led by spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Maheesh Theekshana.

Super Kings thus reached its 10th IPL final and ended its losing streak against Titans while Hardik Pandya’s team will be up against the winner of Eliminator (between Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians) in Qualifier 2.

Left-arm spinner Jadeja (2/18 off 4 overs) and right-arm tweaker Theekshana (2/28 off 4 overs) dominated the Gujarat middle-order, with Deepak Chahar (2/29 off 4 overs) getting rid of both the visiting openers. Slinger Matheesha Pathirana (2/37) applied the finishing touch in the end overs to guide CSK home.

The in-form opening batter Shubman Gill (42 off 38 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) and Rashid Khan (30 off 16 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) kept Gujarat in the hunt, but they could not do enough to get the better of the red-hot ‘yellow army’.

Earlier, the Gujarat bowling unit struck at regular intervals in the second half of the first essay, after openers Ruturaj (60 off 44 balls, 7 fours, 1 six) and Devon Conway (40 off 34 balls, 4 fours) provided CSK a solid base with an 87-run alliance.

Ruturaj made the most of the early reprieve he was handed and raised his second successive half-century to notch up his fourth fifty of the season. Ruturaj, who was dismissed off a no-ball from pacer Darshan Nalkande when on two in the second over, achieved the milestone with a boundary over the backward point fielder. His opening partner Conway emerged as the team’s second-highest scorer on the night, but struggled for the major part of his stay.

Experienced pace bowler Mohit Sharma (2/31) opened the floodgates in the 11th over with the removal of Ruturaj as Super Kings lost four wickets in the span of just six overs. Shivam Dube’s (1) promotion to No.3 backfired while Ajinkya Rahane (17 off 10 balls, 1 six) and Conway fell off successive overs to leave CSK at 125 for four.

Jadeja (22 off 16 balls, 2 fours), Ambati Rayudu (17 off 9 balls, 1 four, 1 six) and Moeen Ali (9 not out off 4 balls, 1 six) found the fence in the death overs to help Chennai finish on a high. MS Dhoni, however, could not entertain the yellow-clad crowd, with Mohit sending the Super Kings skipper back for one in the penultimate over.

BRIEF SCORES: Chennai Super Kings 172/7 in 20 overs (Ruturaj 60, D Conway 40, M Shami 2/28, Mohit 2/31) bt Gujarat Titans 157 in 20 overs (S Gill 42, R Jadeja 2/18, M Theekshana 2/28, D Chahar 2/29, M Pathirana 2/37)