IPL 2023: Gaikwad, bowlers shine as CSK beat GT to reach tenth final

Ruturaj Gaikwads 60 off 44 followed by a commanding display by the bowlers guided Chennai Super Kings CSK to their 10th final with a 15run win over defending champions Gujarat Titans GT in the Indian Premier League IPL 2023 Qualifier 1 at MA Chidambaram Stadium here on TuesdayOpener Devon Conway was struggling for rhythm but his partner Gaikwad was fluent as usual and stroked to his fourth fifty of the season GT pulled things back nicely during the middle overs and seemed to have control of the proceedings Towards the end Ambati Rayudu Ravindra Jadeja and Moeen Ali chipped in with cameos as CSK managed to reach 1727 in their 20 oversIn reply GT couldnt manage to build up any significant partnerships as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals Rashid Khans 30run cameo did give GT a glimmer of hope but CSK bowlers were at their best and bowled out the Titans for 157 in 20 overs to book the ticket to finaleAlso Read Dhoni fever grips Delhi fans gather in large numbers to see CSK captain playChasing 173 the Titans had a shaky start losing two wickets in the Powerplay Deepak Chahar drew the first blood by dismissing Wriddhiman Saha Then Maheesh Theekshana struck in the sixth over and got the big wicket of skipper Hardik Pandya Shubman Gills couple of lovely shots took GT to 41 for the loss of two wickets at the end of PowerPlayThe spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Theekshana kept things tight in the next three overs before Shanaka hit a backtoback boundary and a maximum in the 10th over taking GT to 722In the next over Jadeja removed Dasun Shanaka who looked to reverse sweep over the point fielder but didnt get it off the middle of the bat Theekshana at short third man moved to his right and took a fine catchAfter Matheesha Pathiranas 10ball over Jadeja struck again in the 13th over and cleaned up David Miller finishing his spell with 218 In the next over Deepak Chahar got the big fish Gill for 42 making the chase tougher as Titans were reduced GT to 885 and the asking run rate was over 12 runs per overTheekshana bowled the carrom ball and Rahul Tewatia was caught flatfooted deep inside the crease and was unable to tuck it away The ball beat the bat and crashed into the stumps and Gujarat lost their sixth wicket and 71 was needed in the next 30 ballsThen Rashid Khan and Vijay Shankar went for a few big hits and collected 19 runs in the 17th over to shift some momentum But momentum again turned in CSKs favour with two successive wickets First Pathirana dismissed Shankar on the third ball of the 18th over then Subhranshu Senapatis direct hit sent Darshan Nalkande back to the hutWith 35 needing in 12 balls Rashid Khan smashed a boundary on the first ball of the penultimate over but a moment later Tushar Deshpande dismissed GTs only hope RashidWhen 27 needed off 6 Pathirana conceded a boundary and picked up a wicket of Shami as GT was bowled out for 157 and CSK walked away with 15 runsEarlier batting first Chennai had a steady yet dramatic start as Gaikwad got caught at midwicket in the second over but was lucky to survive as Darshan Nalkande overstepped and the hooter went up He then smoked over longon for a six on a free hit and hit a boundary on the next ballWith some cracking shots from Gaikwad and Conway CSK reached 49 for no loss at the end of the Powerplay Soon Gaikwad completed his fifty off 36 balls as CSK reached 85 for no loss at the halfway markWhen the Titans were looking for a breakthrough Mohit Sharma struck gold for Gujarat the next over and sent Gaikwad back ending the 87run opening standAfter Gaikwads dismissal the boundaries dried up for Chennai but Conway broke the shackles as he got an outside edge for a four Then Ajinkya Rahane whipped one over deep midwicket for a six but fell on the next ballPiling further miseries Shami came back on and picked up a wicket right away dismissing the set batter Conway for 40 Then Rayudu used the depth of the crease and pulled it a long way over the midwicket fence for a maximum before falling on the last ball of the 18th overMS Dhoni came on to bat to a huge roar from the Chennai crowd Ravindra Jadeja lofted it over cover for a boundary on the fourth ball of the penultimate over The next delivery there was a deafening silence inside the ground as Dhoni walked back to the hutJadeja got a boundary in the final before falling on the penultimate ball of the innings as Chennai racked up 1727 in 20 oversBrief scoresChennai Super Kings 1727 in 20 overs Ruturaj Gaikwad 60 Devon Conway 40 Mohd Shami 228 Mohit Sharma 231 beat Gujarat Titans Shubman Gill 42 Rashid Khan 30 Ravindra Jadeja 218 Maheesh Theekshana 228 by 15 runsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever