Titanic display in Ahmedabad as GT get vital win to stay alive
CHENNAI: One of the primary themes of the current Indian Premier League (IPL) season has been MS Dhoni's farewell tour (at least that's the buzz). Wherever CSK has gone, fans, most of whom have no connection with Chennai, have draped themselves in the franchise's canary yellow, brought their whistles and belted out various renditions pertaining to the five-time champions. CeeEssKay. Dhoniiiiii, Dhoni etc. etc.
It was no different at the cavernous stadium in Ahmedabad when they faced Gujarat Titans on Friday. Vast swathes of the stadium decked in yellow from head to toe, Dhoni-centric motifs and yellow flags... you get the drift. It was a festival atmosphere. The same sort that prevailed on a manic, frenzied, rain-drenched Ahmedabad last year after Dhoni lifted the title by beating the same team.
On the field, though, a different tension hung in the air. This time out, it was the right to earn a playoff berth. For Gujarat, only a win would do. For the visitors, a loss wouldn't be terminal but it would be good news for all the other teams vying for that fourth and final qualification spot.
When Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss for only the second time this season, he was a relieved man. His luck had finally turned and he had no hesitation in inserting the opponents on what he thought was going to be a sticky wicket in the early phase of the match.
Unfortunately for him, Gujarat had also turned a corner. With Wriddhiman Saha suffering a niggle, Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan, the openers, rammed into the new-ball bowlers with a gusto rarely seen in this team. In the process, they set multiple batting records. Gill, who has a torrid time of it over the last few games, also raised his bat to bring up the 100th ton in the history of the league. His celebrations — a wild scream followed by a punch and a word that rhymes with duck — told its own story. Understandable too considering a very solid team in 2022 and 2023 have struggled to have the same kind of impact under his leadership. Moments after Gill's delight, Sudharsan, one of the bright spots for the franchise this year, acknowledged the cheers for his maiden IPL ton.
After a year of some middling batting performances, the dam had been broken over 16 sensational overs. And it wasn't all power-hitting. In fact, Gill and Sudharsan, two players renowned for their touch play, did it their way. Even when they hit sixes, they caressed the ball as opposed to muscling or scything the ball. What was different from the earlier games was the timing and a sense of 'let's give this a good go so that even if we lose, we go out on our terms' attitude. That made all the difference as they made 58 in the powerplay alone, with four sixes. In the first 11 games of their campaign, they had only hit 12.
They were of course helped along the way as the visitors, devoid of their best pacers, struggled with their radar all night. When they dug the ball in short, it disappeared into the leg-side. Whenever it was too full, Gill's vertical bat shots made its presence felt. It also didn't help that inexperienced change bowlers (Simarjeet Singh and Daryl Mitchell) couldn't contain the flow of runs. In the end, it proved to be very costly as the duo conceded 0/112 in their eight overs, totally negating Tushar Deshpande's 2/33 in four. It could have been worse but Gujarat had to settle for 231, making only 22 runs in the last three overs.
Just after one of the massive sixes hit by Gujarat, the camera panned to acrying fan wearing Chennai's yellow paint on his cheeks.
How the tables turned as a few hours later, Gujarat had triumphed by 35 runs. Chennai were always behind the eight ball as they never got going. Dhoni belatedly provided some fireworks at the end but it was a mere footnote.
Brief scores: Gujarat Titans 231/3 in 20 ovs (Sudharsan 103, Gill 104; Deshpande 2/33) bt Chennai Super Kings 196/8 in 20 ovs (Mitchell 63, Ali 56, Dhoni 26 n.o; Rashid 2/38, Mohit 3/31).