Mahendra Singh Dhoni is known to be a masterful strategist but when his team Chennai Super Kings take on Gujarat Titans in the first Qualifier of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Chepauk Stadium on Tuesday, he will need to stop the in-form Shubman Gill. Will have to put in extra effort. The first qualifier between Chennai and Gujarat will be played from 7:30 pm, while the toss will take place half an hour earlier i.e. at 7 pm.
Shubman had ruined Virat Kohli's century effort by scoring an unbeaten century in the last match, which resulted in Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) team being out of the IPL. In such a situation, everyone's eyes will be on this young batsman in the match against Chennai. Dhoni, one of the best captains India has ever had, will surely have a special strategy for him.
Chennai has to pay the billso far there have been three matches between the two teams and Gujarat has been successful in winning all. That is, Chennai is looking for its first win against Gujarat. Gujarat captain Hardik has been considering Chennai captain Dhoni as his mentor and role model. The first match of this season was played between CSK and GT in which the disciples were overpowered by Hardik Guru Dhoni. Gujarat won by five wickets.
Chennai have played seven matches at Chepauk but the nature of the pitch has changed in each match and hence it is difficult to predict how it will behave in the upcoming match. This match has also become interesting because the franchise of Gujarat is also moving forward almost on the footsteps of Chennai. Its strong management and administration never interfere in cricket related issues and most of the decisions are taken by Ashish Nehra, Gary Kirsten and Vikram Solanki. In Hardik Pandya, Gujarat Titans have a captain who is considered as good a strategist as Dhoni.
The Gujarat team, like Chennai, is not interested in making too many changes in the playing XI, even if one or two matches go bad. In such a situation, this match will be between teams with similar strategy, which has made it interesting. Gujarat Titans have not played a single match at Chepauk this season.
Dealing with the slow nature of the Chepauk pitch will be a challenge. Apart from this, the bowling of Deepak Chahar in the powerplay and the performance of Mathisha Pathirana in the death overs will also have a significant impact on the result. In such a situation, Pandya and Nehra will take advice from Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka as he will know how to deal with Pathirana and spinner Mahesh Tikshna.
Shanaka can be used as an all-rounder but considering the toss, left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore can also be tried who is well-acquainted with the conditions here. Ireland's Joshua Little can also be included in the playing XI.
A good start from Devon Conway and Rituraj Gaikwad will be crucial for Chennai. Ajinkya Rahane's performance in Chepauk also holds importance while Shivam Dube will look to add to his 33 sixes so far in the season. However, it will not be easy for the Chennai batsmen to deal with the experienced Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan.
If the pitch is made flat for the match, then the role of spinners will become important. If Chennai have quality spinners in Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali and Tikshna, Titans have Rashid and Noor Ahmed. Both the Afghanistan spinners have done well this season so far.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK): Rituraj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c/wk), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mahesh Teekshana (Impact sub: Mathisha Pathirana)
Gujarat Titans(GT): Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya (c), Sai Sudarshan/Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Yash Dayal (Impact sub: Joshua Little /Dasun Shanaka) )
