On Tuesday, May 23, the four-time champions Chennai Super Kings faced the Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway aided Chennai in scoring 172 runs in the first innings, while Gujarat Titans were unable to capitalise during the run chase, succumbing to a heavy defeat.
In the second innings, the MS Dhoni-led team restricted the Hardik Pandya-led side to 157 runs.
Gujarat joined the IPL last year when two more clubs were added to the competition. Prior to Tuesday, there had been no instance of Gujarat losing all ten wickets in a game since the IPL 2022. Before facing the last over of the chase, GT had lost nine wickets.
Gujarat Titans lost the first IPL Qualifier
Their defeat was certain, but a superb running-catch by Deepak Chahar on the final ball resulted in GT losing their final wicket on the final delivery of the game, marking the first time Gujarat had lost all of their wickets on the field.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, the star Indian batter, came up big again for Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier. The 26-year-old batted for the four-time champions in the first innings, scoring 60 runs in 44 deliveries. His knock was critical to Chennai putting up a respectable total and eventually driving them to the final.
Shubman Gill, 23, was the Gujarat Titans’ leading run-scorer throughout the run chase. Gill got 42 runs in 38 deliveries while attempting to chase a 173-run mark. However, his knock was in fruitless as Chennai eventually won the game, but Gill did put forth a valiant effort.
Ravindra Jadeja, the veteran Indian all-rounder, was magnificent with the ball for Chennai Super Kings in the second innings. The 34-year-old hit 22 runs in the first innings, but his bowling performance was outstanding. Jadeja grabbed two wickets and gave only 18 runs in four overs during the run chase.
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