Kagiso Rabada shone with the ball before Sai Sudharsan dazzled with the bat as GT outplayed CSK in all facets of the game to thrash CSK in Chennai by 8 wickets with 20 balls to spare. Kagiso Rabada was too hot to handle earlier, while Sai Sudharsan showed his class with the bat in hand. Rabada’s 3-wicket haul alongside Arshad Khan’s 2 wickets kept CSK down to 158/7 in 20 overs despite Ruturaj Gaikwad scoring an unbeaten 74 off 60 balls and cameos down the order from Jamie Overton and Kartik Sharma.
In reply, Sai Sudharsan’s 87 guided the chase through while Shubman Gill made 33 and Jos Buttler was unbeaten on 39 off 30 balls as GT got over the line in 16.4 overs in a one-sided game in Chennai. Noor Ahmad bowled well for his 1/29, and Akeal Hosein got a wicket, but it was too few a score to defend, and it’s back to the drawing board for CSK. GT climbs to 5th in the table, while CSK slips to 6th place with this loss.
Kagiso Rabada’s 3-wicket haul restricts CSK to 158/7
Put into bat first, keeper batter Sanju Samson and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad came out to bat for CSK while Mohammed Siraj had the ball in hand for GT. GT bowlers were up for it as Siraj bowled tight lines and length initially. CSK were off to a sluggish start and never could get going on a challenging pitch and a good bowling line-up. Sanju Samson hit a couple of boundaries, while Gaikwad got going as well with a boundary.
The opening duo of Samson and Gaikwad added 21 runs for the first wicket before Samson endured a rare failure, falling for 11 off 15 balls with 2 fours to his name, to Kagiso Rabada. Urvil Patel came out to bat next.
Patel hit a glorious boundary to get off the mark, but then played a loose shot to sky the ball in the air as Holder took the catch, and Rabada had two in the over with CSK at 25/2 in 4 overs. CSK used the Impact Player 4 overs into the contest as Sarfaraz Khan came out to the middle. But the move backfired as the impact player made no impact, out for a golden duck to Mohammed Siraj. CSK were 3 down for 26 inside 5 overs. Dewald Brevis came out to bat next.
The innings was now going nowhere as Gaikwad felt the pressure and slowed down, and Brevis never got going in his innings. The duo added 11 runs for the 4th wicket at a snail’s pace before Brevis fell for 2 off 9 balls to Manav Suthar to leave CSK struggling at 37/4 in 8.2 overs. Shivam Dube joined Gaikwad in the middle with CSK in need of a partnership. But it was a struggle out there. Runs were hard to come by on this slow pitch. The bowling was excellent.
The duo managed to hang in there and forge some sort of partnership for respectability. But they were playing catch-up throughout the innings. Dube got a few shots away but struggled with timing. While Gaikwad was struggling and slowly switched gears by playing his shots, Dube was playing slowly. There was one Rashid over where he went for 21 with Dube doing the bulk of the scoring. Gaikwad, after being so slow, improved his strike rate gradually.
The duo put on an important 59-run stand to stabilise the innings before Dube, who got lifelines earlier in the day, fell for 22 off 17 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Arshad Khan. Kartik Sharma came out to bat next with about 4 overs to go. Gaikwad completed his fifty in 49 balls, and thereafter, he accelerated a little bit after reaching the milestone. Kartik provided the impetus with 3 boundaries to his name. Gaikwad too upped the ante but was playing the anchor role. The duo put on 26 runs for the 6th wicket in quick time before Kartik fell for 15 off 9 balls with 3 fours to his name to Rabada.
Jamie Overton came out to bat next. Overton got going and hit the lusty blows out of the ground. He hit 3 fours and a maximum for a limited time; he was there at the crease. Overton was giving the finishing kick and momentum CSK needed to get a respectable score. The duo added 21 runs in 7 balls before Overton fell for 18 off 6 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name. Akeal Hosein came out to bat with CSK at 143/7 in 19 overs.
Gaikwad faced the last over of the innings and added 15 runs to the tally as CSK ended up with 158/7 in 20 overs after being 102/5 in 16 overs. The Men in Yellow added 56 runs in the last 4 overs to give the score some respectability. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad carried his bat as he was unbeaten on 74 off 60 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes to his name, while Hosein remained unbeaten on 0 off 0 balls. 12 extras given by the fielding side.
GT bowlers were excellent with the ball, with their lines and lengths. Kagiso Rabada was the pick of the bowlers for GT with figures of 3/25 in 4 overs. Arshad Khan chipped in with 2/43 in 4 overs. Mohammed Siraj finished with 1/23 in 4 overs. Manav Suthar chipped in with 1/22 in 3 overs. Jason Holder bowled miserably for his 0/22 in 4 overs. Rashid Khan bowled one over and gave away 21 runs in his only over he bowled. This meant that GT needed 159 runs to win off 20 overs to climb upwards in the points table.
Sai Sudharsan’s majestic 87 powers GT to an impressive 8-wicket win with 20 balls to spare
Chasing 159 for the win, Sai Sudharsan and captain Shubman Gill came out to bat for GT while Akeal Hosein had the ball in hand for CSK. Gill started on the front foot and started the attack straightaway as Hosein went for 11 runs in his opening over. Sai Sudharsan took his time initially as Gill took the attack to the opposition. Gill looked good out there. The duo dominated the power play and put CSK on the back foot. The duo rode their luck a little bit and put on another 50-run stand for the first wicket. GT were 55/0 in 6 overs of power play.
The duo put on 58 runs for the first wicket before Noor Ahmad dismissed Gill for 33 off 23 balls with one four and three sixes to his name, with a brilliant stumping by Sanju Samson off a wide ball. The platform was laid, and in walked Jos Buttler to the crease. The required rate was never an issue as Buttler settled himself at the crease.
Sai switched gears now after Gill’s dismissal and went about their business in a professional manner. CSK did not have a clue what to do, and using the Impact Player this early really came back to bite them in the end. Mukesh Choudhary could not be used.
It was one-way traffic as Sai Sudharsan completed a fifty that followed the hundred he scored a few nights ago in Bengaluru. He carried on and converted that into a significant knock. Buttler too started playing his shots after getting himself in, as the chase was now a formality for them. The duo added a match-winning 97-run stand off 60 balls to seal the deal for GT. But with 4 runs to win, Sai fell for a magnificent 87 off 46 balls with 4 fours and 7 sixes to his name to Akeal Hosein, who had a wicket to show for.
Washington Sundar came out to bat next. He got off the mark. Buttler then hit the winning hit via a maximum as GT got over the line in 16.4 overs with the score reading 162/2. Jos Buttler was unbeaten on 39 off 30 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name, while Sundar was unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball. 2 extras given by the fielding side.
For CSK, Noor Ahmad was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 1/29 in 4 overs. Akeal Hosein finished with 1/46 in 3.4 overs. Anshul Kamboj finished with 0/16 in 3 overs. Jamie Overton finished with 0/28 in 2 overs. Gurjapneet Singh finished with 0/36 in 3 overs. Shivam Dube bowled an over for 7 runs. CSK were sloppy in the field, and they deserved to lose in Chennai. So, GT thrashes CSK by 8 wickets with 20 balls to spare. Kagiso Rabada was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
So, GT thrashed CSK by 8 wickets, and with this win, they have climbed to 5th in the points table. They next face RCB at home in Ahmedabad on Thursday night. While CSK have a break till next Saturday, where they will face their greatest rivals again in MI in Chennai on Saturday evening. So, a lot to look forward to for both teams. Coming up next, it’s 9th vs 10th as LSG hosts KKR in Lucknow. This match can go either way.
Let’s see how this match unfolds for both teams.
Also Read: CSK vs GT: Can CSK Outclass Shubman Gill’s Titans In Chennai?