In Match 59 of the 2024 Indian Premier League season, the previous year’s runner-up Gujarat Titans will lock horns with the defending champions Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday.
GT is ranked 10th in the points table with 8 points from 11 games. Due to their dismal batting and bowling performances thus far in the season, the Shubman Gill-led side is on the verge of being eliminated from the playoff race.
CSK is positioned 3rd in the points table with 12 points in 11 games. The Super Kings’ main concerns thus far in the season have been injuries and the unavailability of some of their key players which has forced them to constantly alter their starting lineup.
What has happened so far?
The team captained by Ruturaj Gaikwad got off to an impressive start in the season, winning four of their first six games. However, the Super Kings faltered after that, winning only two of their next five games.
CSK defeated Punjab Kings by 28 runs in their most recent game, courtesy of Ravindra Jadeja’s all-round effort supported by the rest of the bowlers’ great bowling display.
On the other hand, GT had a hot and cold start to the season, winning three of their first six games. However, the Titans stumbled after that, winning just one of their last five games.
In their most recent encounter against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the RCB bowlers performed superbly, restricting the Titans to an achievable target of 147 runs. Following a poor performance by the batters, GT’s bowlers fought till the end but RCB won by four wickets.
Head to Head Record
Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings have competed in six IPL matches, with both GT and CSK winning three games each. In the two matches played at Narendra Modi Stadium, the Titans and Super Kings have won one game each.
Chennai Super Kings registered a commanding victory of 63 runs over the Gujarat Titans in the match played at CSK’s home ground earlier this season.
Key Players
Ruturaj Gaikwad scored an unbeaten century against Lucknow Super Giants
Ruturaj Gaikwad (Chennai Super Kings): With 541 runs and a staggering strike rate of 147.01, Ruturaj Gaikwad is ranked second on the list of highest run-getters in IPL 2024, and he will be eager to keep up his exceptional form.
The skipper has led from the front and given the team a strong start in nearly every game. With the captain and Shivam Dube being the mainstays of their batting attack, the Super Kings would be hoping to get some runs from the other batters during the upcoming crucial matches.
Sai Sudharsan (Gujarat Titans): Sai Sudharsan is the leading run scorer for the Titans thus far and ranked 9th among the IPL 2024 top scorers with 424 runs with an average of 42.40 and a strike rate of 131.68.
The southpaw has scored 457 runs with an average of 45.70 in 10 matches played at Narendra Modi Stadium and would be looking to get some runs against CSK after getting out cheaply in the last match against RCB.
Team News from Both Camps
Prior to their encounter against PBKS on Sunday, the Chennai Super Kings suffered a major setback when it was announced that Matheesha Pathirana would be returning to Sri Lanka to continue his recovery from a hamstring injury.
It adds to CSK’s difficulties, as Deepak Chahar has also suffered a major injury, and it is yet to be known whether Chahar will return for the remainder of the season. Mustafizur Rahman will not be playing further this season as he left for national duties.
On the other hand, Joshua Little has refused to depart for international duty as Ireland faces Pakistan in a 3-match T20I series starting on Friday. It is expected that the left-arm speedster would be given a chance to feature in the Titans’ last few fixtures.
Predicted XIs
Chennai Super Kings: Ajinkya Rahane, Ruturaj Gaikwad ©, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, MS Dhoni (wk), Richard Gleeson, Tushar Deshpande
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill ©, Sai Sudharsan, David Miller, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Noor Ahmad, Mohit Sharma, Joshua Little
Prediction
After a much-needed win over PBKS, CSK will try to continue their winning ways in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. However, GT cannot afford any more losses in the upcoming games since they are on the verge of elimination.
All things considered, a fantastic cricket match is anticipated in Ahmedabad on Friday night, as both teams will be trying to win to move one step closer to the playoffs.