IPL 2023 Qualifier 1: Champions in Chepauk! Chennai Super Kings make headway to Finals with 15-run win over Gujarat Titans | Match Report

Chennai Super Kings have made their headway to the IPL 2023 finals, and they are the are the first team in this season to do so! Chennai beat Gujarat with 15 runs in a match that can be called as an easy win for the host team. Although, Gujarat did put up a fight in the first innings but later, their batsmen just kept falling like dominoes!

For starters, Hardik Pandya, skipper of Gujarat Titans, won the toss and opted to bowl. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway were the opening batsmen for CSK, and Rituraj really proved his mettle by scoring a superb 60 off 44 balls while the others could not make a substantial contribution.

Gaikwad appeared to slow down after having outscored his Conway with whom he shared yet another half-century stand. He fell trying to force the pace, to a catch by David Miller off Mohit Sharma. Conway didn’t seem his usual self and seemed to struggle through his timings all throughout his innings. All in all, CSK did quite well to reach 172 runs at the loss 7 wickets on a slow pitch in Qualifier 1.

Gujarat had a winnig target of 173 runs which initially seemed possible but slowly looked like a dream for the defending champions. CSK’s left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja did the star turn for the Super Kings with a brilliant spell during which he strangled the opposition batters. GT hardly had any hold over the game at any of the stages during the match. Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana and Deepal Chahar also finished with two wickets each. Gujarat’s biggest weapon, Shubham Gill fell 42 off 38 balls, and GTs ended up making 157 runs at the loss of 10 wickets!

(With PTI Inputs)