CSK trounce Titans to finish on a high

Ahmedabad: Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad and India's Anshul Khamboj took three wickets each, while Ravindra Jadeja claimed two scalps, to trigger a batting collapse as Chennai Super Kings bundled out hosts Gujarat Titans for 147 in 18.3 overs for a big win in Match 67 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 here on Sunday.

It turned out to be a Super Sunday for Chennai Super Kings as the five-time champions ended their season with a massive 83-run victory over Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

This is a massive result in the scope of the IPL playoffs. With this loss, Gujarat Titans' hopes of finishing among the top two are in serious jeopardy. The winner of the clash between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings, on Monday, will move past them in the table, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru could push them down further into an Eliminator spot with a win over Lucknow Super Giants in the final league game of the season.

Opting to bat first, CSK rode on fifties by Dewald Brevis and Devon Conway, coupled with quick-fire innings by young guns Ayush Mhatre and Urvish Patel, to post a massive total of 230/5 in 20 overs.

With a big total to defend, skipper M.S. Dhoni began the second innings by entrusting the ball to his most experienced bowler, Ravindra Jadeja, and he responded by conceding seven runs in the first over. Shubman Gill (13) and Sai Sudharsan (41) got off the mark with a boundary each off Khaleel Ahmed in the next over.

Gill then played a glorious straight drive, after coming down the pitch, and dispatched Kamboj for a six down the ground. However, the 24-year-old Kamboj struck back on the next delivery, finding Gill’s outside edge, which went to Urvil Patel in the slips.

Things went from bad to worse for Gujarat Titans when Jos Buttler (7) slashed at Khaleel’s back-of-the-length delivery outside off, which Kamboj made no mistake in grabbing a catch. Sherfane Rutherford’s brief time at the crease came to an end when he mistimed a pull shot and departed for a duck for Kamboj’s second wicket on the day to reduce GT to 35/3 by the end of the power-play.

Sudharsan stood tall at one end, playing a gritty knock, trying to prevent a collapse. He added 54 runs in partnership with Shahrukh Khan (19) for the fourth wicket. The duo started to ramp up in the 10th over and conjured 18 runs off Shivam Dube, but Jadeja refused to let GT back in the game and claimed the scalps of both batters in the next over.

A thick edge off the bat of Shahrukh, on the first ball of the over, saw the ball go to Pathirana at short third-man, which the Sri Lankan quick almost fumbled. Sudharsan soon followed his partner to the dugout when a slightly shorter delivery saw him hit straight to Dube at backward point.

From thereon, GT virtually stood little to no chance of clawing back into the game.

Rashid Khan (12) fell, after hitting a four and a six, to national team compatriot Noor Ahmad. Matheesha Pathrina uprooted Gerald Coetzee’s (5) leg stump. Rahul Tewatia (14) and Arshad Khan (20) treated the fans in Ahmedabad for a few maximums but could not provide much relief as both fell to Noor Ahmad, who moved past Prasidh Krishna to grab the Purple Cap worn by the leading wicket-taker.

Earlier, in the first innings, Ayush Mhatre gave his side a strong start, which included 28 runs off Arshad Khan in the second over before a slower-fullish delivery by Prasidh Krishna saw the 17-year-old try and get under it but mistiming it straight to Siraj at mid-off to end his 17-ball blitz.

Urvish Patel started his innings strongly with a six off Siraj before Conway struck Prasidh for consecutive boundaries to tie CSK’s highest power-play score for the season with 68/1 in the six overs.

Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 230/5 in 20 overs (Dewald Brevis 57, Devon Conway 52; Prasidh Krishna 2-22, Rashid Khan 1-42) beat Gujarat Titans 147 all out in 18.3 overs (Sai Sudharsan 41, Arshad Khan 20; Anshul Kamboj 3-13, Noor Ahmad 3-21, Ravindra Jadeja 2-17) by 83 runs. IANS

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