Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss in Ahmedabad and, without too much fuss, decided Chennai Super Kings would bowl first on a red-soil pitch he reckoned would offer “some pace and bounce”. The call fits CSK’s situation: they must win handsomely to stay in the play-off conversation, so knowing the target feels useful.
Changes came quickly after the coin. Left-arm seamer Gurjapneet Singh is back, as is Australian batting all-rounder Matt Short. Akeal Hosein and Prashant Veer, both left-arm spin options, drop out. The balance tilts towards seam and middle-order muscle rather than spin depth.
The headline absentee remains MS Dhoni. The former captain flew home to Ranchi to rest a sore finger and, by all accounts, never travelled with the squad. CSK are expected to use Kartik Sharma – tidy at No. 4 in recent games – as their Impact Substitute once they chase.
Gujarat Titans, already qualified and chasing a guaranteed top-two finish, have their own swap in mind. Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna is listed among the Impact options and should come on for left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore when Shubman Gill’s side take the ball later. It is, in essence, the reverse of CSK’s tactic: extra pace for the death overs rather than extra spin for the middle.
Gill, now captain after a season of steady run-scoring, keeps his batting line-up unchanged. He starts alongside B Sai Sudharsan, with Jos Buttler still wearing the gloves. There is pace from Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada, spin from Rashid Khan, and the usual late-innings muscle from Rahul Tewatia.
CSK, meanwhile, lean on a mix of youth and itinerant T20 specialists. Dewald Brevis returns in the top order, Shivam Dube slots into his accustomed finisher’s job, and overseas left-armer Spencer Johnson should enjoy the promised carry. Gurjapneet’s inclusion means three left-arm quicks if Mukesh Choudhary takes the new ball as expected – much variety, if not always perfect control.
Neither camp sounded dramatic beforehand. “The points table looks after itself if we play good cricket,” Gill said on local TV, while CSK coach Stephen Fleming put things even more simply: “Two hours of clean execution, then we’ll check the maths.”
Squads
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (capt), B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada, Arshad Khan, Mohammed Siraj. Impact subs: Prasidh Krishna, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Phillips, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kumar Kushagra.
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Sanju Samson (wk), Urvil Patel, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Matt Short, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh. Impact subs: Kartik Sharma, Macneil Noronha, Sarfaraz Khan, Kuldip Yadav, Aman Khan.
A playoff berth for CSK still feels distant; a top-two finish for GT is within touching distance. First, though, they have to get through 40 overs on a warm afternoon in Motera.
