Chennai Super Kings left table-topper Gujarat Titans’ underbelly precariously exposed at the pointy end of the league stage of the Indian Premier League 2025 at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday.
Although the visitor couldn’t avoid the wooden spoon, M. S. Dhoni’s aggressive captaincy, with pinpoint field placements, ensured CSK ended its campaign with a massive 83-run victory. GT, meanwhile, has been left like a cat on hot bricks after yet another underwhelming show from its middle order as the Playoffs beckon.
After Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler, and Sherfane Rutherford were sent back into the hut inside the first five overs, it was left to Chennai’s homeboys from GT, B. Sai Sudharsan and M. Shahrukh Khan, to initiate the rebuilding act.
When old warhorse Ravindra Jadeja ensured their partnership remained worth only 55 runs in the 11th over, the Titans were already fighting a losing battle.
AS IT HAPPENED | GT vs CSK
Earlier, CSK opted to bat and scored 68 to equal its highest PowerPlay score this year. It could have done better had Ayush Mhatre not mistimed a loft into the mid-off skies in the fourth over. The India Under-19 captain, only moments earlier, had taken Arshad Khan’s first over apart for 28 runs.
Chennai Super Kings Ayush Mhatre in action against Gujarat Titans.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
Chennai Super Kings Ayush Mhatre in action against Gujarat Titans.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
A bungled catching attempt from Shahrukh Khan handed Urvil Patel a five-ball reprieve until R. Sai Kishore dismissed the wicketkeeper-batter in the 10th over.
With two left-handed batters in Devon Conway and Shivam Dube at the crease, Gill couldn’t resist the lip-smacking prospect of throwing in a dash of right-arm off-spin into the mix. In came Shahrukh Khan, who had last bowled in a List A T20 during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in December 2024. The move paid off immediately with Dube hitting straight down the throat of the long-on fielder.
Dewald Brevis offered a glimpse into CSK’s future, scoring the second-quickest fifty in the franchise’s history, off 19 balls. In the 16th over, he let out his war cry by carting Rashid Khan straight down the ground. With that, the Afghan spinner, already in his leanest IPL patch, ended up conceding the joint-most sixes in one season (31).
