Chennai Super Kings (CSK) registered a thumping victory against the mighty Gujarat Titans (GT) as winning the match by 63 runs is unthinkable in the T20 format. CSK had set a mammoth target of 207 runs to win for the visitors. Gujarat Titans’ (GT) Net Run Rate (NRR) has taken a very bad hit as now they are placed at 6th position with 1 win from 2 matches and NRR of -1.425. GT’s head coach Ashish Nehra would be fumed up with the batters as there was no intent & fight.
Over-dependency on Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill was outfoxed by the seasoned campaigner Deepak Chahar who was dismissed for 8 runs in 5 balls. It won’t be wrong to say that the burden of captaincy is slowly affecting the natural attacking gameplan of Shubman Gill. Even while leading the side, Shubman Gill was somewhat furious on his team mates which isn’t a good sign by any means.
GT’s fragile middle order
Earlier it was assumed that the dashing right handed batter Vijay Shankar will fill the void of Hardik Pandya but Vijay Shankar has looked in all sorts of trouble. Perhaps, the seasoned campaigner David Miller needs to bat a bit up the order as his experience is invaluable and he is someone who can play a flamboyant knock for the team.
There is uncertainty regarding the participation of Kane Williamson as according to sources with knowledge, it is believed that the New Zealand batter has some issues with his elbow injury which has been troubling him for quite some time. GT would be considering bringing Matthew Wade in the playing 11 as he is someone who knows how to play the role of aggressor at the top of the order.
What lies ahead for GT
Gujarat’s next match is against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on 31st March at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad which promises to be a nail bitter. GT would be thinking of bringing back the left arm spinner Noor Ahmad as he along with the star spinner Rashid Khan can spurn a web across the batters.
Against CSK, not a single GT batter scored 40 odd runs which is not a good sign for the IPL 2022 champions. It won’t be a bad option if GT promote Rahul Tewatia up the order as he is a pinch hitter and has got wide range of shots. Gujarat needs to pull their socks up as once again all eyes will be on the leader Shubman Gill who will have to bat responsibly.