Gujarat Titans keep playoff hopes alive with 35-run win over Chennai Super Kings
AHMEDABAD: Mohit Sharma was excellent with his variations to pick 3-31 while Rashid Khan ended a three-game wicketless run to take 2-38 as Gujarat Titans keep their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 Playoffs hopes alive with a comfortable 35-run win over Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday.
After Shubman Gill (104) and B Sai Sudarshan (103) slammed centuries while sharing a 210-run opening partnership and propelled GT to 231/3, CSK lost three wickets in the first three overs of the chase.
Despite a 109-run stand between Daryl Mitchell (63) and Moeen Ali (56), CSK ended up reaching 196/8 in their 20 overs.
The win sees GT jump from the bottom place to eighth position. CSK, meanwhile, remain in fourth place with 12 points, with their NRR taking a hit as it now stands at 0.49.
Though they are ahead of Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants on points and NRR, CSK’S defeat gives them and Royal Challengers Bengaluru
CSK’S chase had a less-than-ideal start as David Miller nailed a direct hit to run out Rachin Ravindra in the opening over. Sandeep Warrier, coming in as an Impact Player for B Sai Sudharsan, drew a leading edge from Ajinkya Rahane, which was taken by mid-off.
When Ruturaj Gaikwad fell for a duck after Rashid Khan tossed up the ball in the air, found his balance, and then took the catch with his outstretched right hand at deep square leg, CSK were left in dire trouble at 10/3.
Mitchell began by taking Warrier for 20 runs off nine balls, including two sixes and a four. He then took three fours off Kartik Tyagi in the eighth over. From the other end, Moeen gave him great support by taking boundaries off Umesh Yadav, Warrier and Tyagi.
After Mitchell reached his fifty, Moeen smacked Noor Ahmad for three successive sixes. Mitchell then took Rashid for a four and six but fell for 63 off 34 balls after miscuing a lofted shot to longoff against Mohit.
In his next over, Mohit had Moeen holing out in the deep for 56 to put a dent in CSK’S chase. Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja hit five boundaries between themselves before the duo got out to Mohit and Rashid in quick succession. Despite MS Dhoni enthralling the crowd with three sixes and a four, CSK fell short of a win on a day when Gill and Sudharsan shined brightest under the Ahmedabad sky.
TRAVIS-ABHISHEK MOST EXPLOSIVE OPENING PAIR IN 17 YEARS OF IPL, SAYS CHOPRA: It is no surprise that Sunrisers Hyderabad have been a team which has enthralled fans the most in IPL 2024 through their power-packed batting display, led by their left-handed openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma.
In IPL 2024, Travis and Abhishek have constantly taken opposition bowlers to the cleaners, been ruthless in their stroke play when facing the new ball and have redefined T20 batting in the power-play. Be it smashing a world-record 125 runs in Power-play against Delhi Capitals or showcasing a relentless boundary-hitting clinic to finish the chase of 166 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in just 9.4 overs, Travis and Abhishek have been an absolute fiery force as openers.
Aakash Chopra, the former India opener, feels the Travis-abhishek pairing is the most explosive opening combination in 17 years of the tournament.
“They have been absolutely outstanding and both of them have played in such a swashbuckling fashion that despite the sample size being 12 games, my thought is that Head and Abhishek’s combination is the most explosive opening pair in 17 years of the IPL.”
“The way these two have been playing and repeating their attacking style of play, with bowlers being taken to cleaners from both ends equally by them, I can’t remember an onslaught like that. Chris Gayle, David Warner and Virender Sehwag used to hit ferociously from one end, while there would be someone from the other end, who would be measured in their batting,” said Chopra.