New Delhi: After over the month-long tournament, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is headed for final face-off. Playoffs are set to begin from Tuesday, with first encounter scheduled between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Titans (GT).
The first play-off match will be played at MA Chidambaram Cricket Stadium, Chepauk and will start at 7:30 PM IST.
Though, both teams are loaded with talent and come into tournament on a positive note, the Gujarat Titans maintain a slight edge owing to its superior bowling attack.
GT Vs CSK: Pitch report & Match preview
Though, the last minute pitch report of the Chidambaram Cricket Stadium is yet to come but Chepauk is known to favour the batting side, provided they opt for it in 1st innings.
Over the years, the team which batted first in the tournament won the game, most of the time. The average batting score at this IPL venue has been 163. Spinners do get some advantage here but the batters do also have good scope here.
Gujarat Titans (GT) have been table toppers of IPL 2023 while MS Dhoni-led side performed below expectations. Moreover, the GT managed to have dominance over CSK in past encounters. The last 3 matches saw GT thrashing CSK in head-to-head competition. Their last encounter was in Ahmedabad, which GT won by 5 wickets.
GT Vs CSK: Top players
CSK has got a strong batting line-up with MSD being the most crucial & reliable skipper. However, lately his injuries & bad knee have been troubling him & he may skip this match. He won the entire Season 16 series so far with a bad knee.
Comprising the CSK top line-up are Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway and lot will depend on how they open the innings. The likes of Ajinkya Rahane, along with Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja account for a strong line-up provided they fire runs on the D-day.
Jadeja has been spectacular on this pitch as he has claimed 17 wickets so far.
For the Gujarat Titans, Shubman Gill has emerged as the batting sensation whom every franchise would want to have. The cricketer, with 576 runs in its kitty, will look to tilt the game in its favour by hitting another big knock. Wriddhiman Saha is another strong player whom the GT would bank upon.
Sai Sudharasan along with Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar & Rashid Khan are other players to watch out for.
Rashid Khan has turned out to be strong finisher and he leads the race for purple cap.
CSK vs GT Probable Playing XI:
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Shivam Dube, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, M Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Dasun Shanaka, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma