In the 29th match of the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Gujarat Titans (GT) defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by three wickets at the MCA stadium in Pune.
Rashid Khan, who led GT in the absence of Hardik Pandya due to a groin injury, won the toss and asked the Chennai based team to bat first.
CSK got off to a sluggish start and lost two wickets in the powerplay itself. The only positive news for CSK fans was Ruturaj Gaikwad‘s (73) come back to form. The youngster took his time and almost managed to play the whole 20 overs. Along with him, Ambati Rayudu (48) was the only other batsman who looked in fine touch. In the end, a bit of cameos from Ravindra Jadeja (22) and Shivam Dube (19) helped CSK reach a respectable total of 169/5 in 20 overs.
Chasing 170, GT struggled at the start of the innings and lost three wickets upfront in the powerplay. The target looked quite difficult to achieve from here on as Gujarat were losing wickets at regular intervals. It was only David Miller (94*) who kept going till the end and brought GT home with two more points. The Killer-Miller hammered eight 4’s and six 6’s at the strike rate of 184.31 in the chase. Captain Rashid Khan (40) also helped the South African batsman in the middle to reach this tricky target. A quick-fire knock from the Afghanistan cricketer of just 21 deliveries with two 4’s and three 6’s shifted the momentum of the game and brought back the hopes of GT fans who had lost it at the start of the innings. In the end, Gujarat Titans won the match with a ball to spare.
In the bowling department, Alzarri Joseph scalped a brace in his quota of four overs. Shami and Dayal also pocketed one each.
For CSK, Dwayne Bravo took three wickets, Theekshana bagged two and Jadeja along with Mukesh Choudhary managed to pick one each as well.
David Miller was adjudged Man of the Match for his scintillating batting performance. Gujarat Titans, with this victory, becomes the first team to acquire 10 points on the points table.
Scorecard:
Chennai Super Kings: 169/5, Overs 20, Ruturaj Gaikwad 73, Alzarri Joseph 2/32
Gujarat Titans: 170/7, Overs 19.5, David Miller 94*, Dwayne Bravo 3/23