Dominant Super Kings thrash Titans in lopsided IPL clash
Chennai were relentless in their pursuit as their bowlers used the short ball well, varied the pace, and did not allow Gujarat Titans baters many opportunities
Deepak Chahar struck two early blows including the early wicket of Gujarat Titans’ skipper Shubman Gill as Chennai Super Kings registered a massive 63-run victory in a rematch of the 2023 final in Match 7 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium here on Tuesday.
CSK came up with a clinical performance both with the bat and ball as they outplayed Gujarat Titans by 63 runs, geting them out for 143/8 in 20 overs to register their second successive victory at home. The Chennai pacers claimed six of the eight wickets to fall as they used the conditions well on a pitch that had slightly more grass than usual.
Ater a brilliant bating display by their top order helped them post 206/6, Chahar struck the deadly blow in the third over when he trapped Shubman Gill LBW as the ball pitched on the good length stayed a tad low and hit the Gujarat skipper on the pad. Gill reviews it but could not get it overturned as DRS goes with the umpire’s call.
The 2022 IPL winner lost their first wicket and the in-form bater for eight runs. As the pressure of the scoreboard mounted, Gujarat, who lost their first wicket for 28, failed to build any momentum in their chase of a massive target of 207 built by Chennai Super Kings riding on a 23-ball 51 by Shivam Dube, a 20-ball 46 by Rachin Ravindra and a 46 by Ruturaj Gaikwad off 35 balls.
Chahar (2-28 off 4 overs) also got Gujarat’s other opener, Wriddhiman Saha for 21 off 17, getting him to lob a catch to Tushar Deshpande as Gujarat slumped to 34/2 in the fith over. Saha had started well, hiting four boundaries but could not score a big one as CSK maintained the same high intensity that they produced while bating.
Gujarat failed to recover from those setbacks and continued to lose wickets at regular intervals as Chennai bowlers did a splendid job while they also fielded and caught superbly to maintain the pressure on Gujarat Titans. Rachin Ravindra picked three well-judged catches while Ajinkya Rahane pulled off a brilliant diving catch to enthral thousands of CSK fans who packed the stadium.
Sai Sudharsan top-scored for Gujarat Titans with 37 off 31 balls, hiting three boundaries while David Miller struck a 16-ball 21 as both of them perished while trying to shore up the scoring rate. Gujarat Titans eventually finished with 143/8 in 20 overs.
While Chahar claimed 2-28 and Mustafizur Rahman, who continued to impress in CSK’S second match, took 2-30, Tushar Deshpande was the best bowler of the day for CSK with 2-21.
Gujarat Titans were thoroughly outplayed as their bowlers were hammered and they lost too many wickets in the Power-play (43/2). Chennai were relentless in their pursuit as their bowlers used the short ball well, varied the pace, and did not allow Gujarat Titans baters many opportunities.
Meanwhile, with a 25-ball 33 studded with two boundaries and two sixes, Shai Hope made an immediate impact for Delhi Capitals (DC) in his debut match in the Indian Premier League (IPL) -- a four-wicket defeat to Punjab Kings.
Though the 30-year-old right-handed bater from Barbados was satisfied with his performance and said his team did well in patches, he would have loved it if Delhi Capitals had won their opening match on Saturday.
With Shai Hope contributing 33 at the top and Abishek Porel hammering a 10-ball 32 at the back end, Delhi Capitals reached a competitive 174/9 in 20 overs despite a stumble in the middle. Punjab Kings however chased the target, reaching 177/6 in the final over.
Though they lost the match, there were some positives for them, like their fightback to cross 170 ater losing a couple of quick wickets in the middle part of the innings.
“First day? I would have loved the win to seal my IPL debut. But I thought that the guys played great cricket in patches, especially with the bat, to find ways to get up to that 170 mark. But again, we didn’t kick on as baters to really explode in the back end to give us a bigger total,” Shai Hope told IANS in an exclusive interview over the phone from Jaipur, where the Delhi Capitals will be playing their second match against Rajasthan Royals on Thursday.
“I thought that the conditions there (at Mullanpur), I think it was a new ground. So conditions were a litle bit unfamiliar for most of the guys, but still felt as though we were a few runs short. And then in the bowling department, we didn’t execute as well as we wanted to, but it was still great to see that. We put up a lovely fight there at the back end.