IPL 2024: A day when everything went well for CSK

CHENNAI: Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) displayed a clinical performance at home as they outplayed the Gujarat Titans to record back-to-back wins this season here on Tuesday.

Right throughout the game’s play, the tides were always in favour of CSK, with the all-round performance by the men in yellow taking it to the top of the table at the end of seven games.

Winning the toss did not help GT as Hometeam's opening pair, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra, went on the attack from the first over and posted 69 runs at the end of the powerplay. However, Ravindra fell to Rashid Khan’s fuller delivery to get out stumped.

It is still early days to talk about next year’s mega auction prospects, but if Rachin continues with his prowess with the bat as he did in the first two games, the CSK management and Ruturaj will think about retaining him next year.

The centerpiece of the game was Shivam Dube’s pulverizing innings, which crushed GT bowlers and took away the game completely with his thunderous sixes against the spinners. He also posted CSK’s first fifty this season.

Rashid Khan got the better of Dube with a googly in the 19th over to give GT some hope of restricting the score in the last two overs. But all those came to an end the very next ball as debutant Sameer Rizvi slog-swept Rashid and cleared the rope in his very first ball in the IPL, and followed it with a lofted six over long off to mark a classy arrival to the stage. In the end, CSK finished with a total of 206.

The GT batters, despite making their attacking intentions clear in the initial overs, didn’t last long as both openers fell prey to Deepak Chahar within the powerplay (43/2).

The middle order was not able to shift the pressure back to CSK, with Tamil Nadu player Sai Sudharsan (37 off 31) being the highest run scorer for GT in this game. But despite a couple of boundaries here and there, the scoreboard moved slowly and the game was never in the hands of GT.

Next up is CSK's first away game at Vizag against the Delhi Capitals on March 31, while GT will play against SRH at home on the same day.

Key points from the game

• The top-order of CSK looks impeccable
• Tushar Deshpande found his rhythm
• 18 overs of pace bowling from CSK for the first time in Chepauk
• Daryl Mitchell being used as a bowling option
• Matheesha Pathirana’s comeback
• Sameer Rizvi showing power-hitting skills