In qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will square off at the latter’s home ground at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday, May 23 at 7:30 PM IST.
GT have been a juggernaut in the ongoing season as they ended the league stage as the table topper with 20 points to their name. Shubman Gill has been the highlight of the season so far with a couple of hundred to his name. Vijay Shankar came as a surprise package for the team, who scored multiple half-centuries and kept the scoring rate within reach in the middle overs. Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan did their thing at the back end of the innings. While the Gujarat Titans-skipper, Hardik Pandya didn’t have his best season but did an impressive job in handling his troops. The defending champions would like to maintain their momentum going forward and become the third team in history to retain the IPL trophy.
On the other hand, CSK, who didn’t start well in the season, somehow managed to improve with every game possible and secure a place in the top four. The team’s batting stood out with the likes of Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja and Mahendra Singh Dhoni himself firing at regular intervals. The four-time champions had a bleak bowling line-up on paper but under MSD’s guidance, the inexperienced bowlers delivered during crunch situations. The Chennai-based team is the most experienced contender in the IPL playoffs and could be a force to reckon with in the last week of the competition.
Head-to-Head:
GT have the upper hand in the head-to-head competition between the two sides. Both teams played against each other thrice and CSK lost all the fixtures. The previous encounter between the two teams took place earlier this season with Gujarat winning by five wickets.
Where-to-watch:
TV: Star Sports Network
OTT: JioCinema