CSK’s playoff hopes dwindle after crushing defeat against GT

CHENNAI: The opening pair of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan shredded the Chennai Super Kings unit to keep its playoff hopes just alive, defeating them by 35 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday.

CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad finally ended his toss jinx and won the toss for the team after losing it for six consecutive games.

Despite winning the toss, the decision to bowl first didn’t go as per plan for the five-time champion side, who in the same venue defeated GT in a final over thriller last season in the finals.

Gill and Sudharsan made full use of the red soil wicket in Ahmedabad and made 210 runs in their opening partnership.

It was Gill who made the initial runs for GT, going after Mitchell Santner and Simarjeet Singh early on. Then, once Ravindra Jadeja came, Sudharsan took charge, scoring 21 runs on the seven balls he faced off Jadeja.

The presence of Sudharsan made Gaikwad go for another option with the likes of Daryl Mitchell. But it didn’t go well for CSK, as he ended up leaking 52 runs in his four-over spell.

But in the death overs, Tushar Deshpande and Shardul Thakur managed to restrict the score by dismissing both openers, and GT only managed to score 41 runs in the last five overs.

In the second innings, CSK brought in Rachin Ravindra to seek help at the top. But his runout in the first over, followed by Ajinkya Rahane’s dismissal within the next two balls, put CSK in a difficult situation, chasing 232 runs.

Gaikwad got out without scoring, which meant CSK failed to maximise the powerplay by only scoring 43 runs in the powerplay with the loss of three wickets.

Mitchell and Moen Ali showed good signs, with the bat adding 109 runs to their partnership going after GT spinners in the middle overs.

The decision to bring in Mohit Sharma at the 12th over was spot on from Rahul Tewatia, who took charge on the field with Gill on the sidelines due to a cramp.

Mohit dismissed both Mitchell and Ali in his successive overs and also got rid of power hitter Shivam Dube, picking up three wickets in the day.

This victory mean GT still has a glimmer of hope to march into that fourth spot. Meanwhile, for CSK, it made things worse as they are tied alongside DC and LSG with 12 points. Despite having a better net run rate than the others in the race, they are facing Rajasthan Royals at home on Sunday and the in-form Royal Challengers Bengaluru on May 18.