Chennai get one step closer to triumphant season

Chennai Super Kings punched a ticket to their 10th IPL final with a 15-run win over form team Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1. Chasing 173, Gujarat could only manage 157, the first time they were bowled out in Indian Premier League 2023. This was also CSK’s first win in four attempts against Hardik Pandya’s team, and it the yellow army couldn’t have chosen a more opportune juncture to buck the trend.

It was apparent that the ball was coming rather sluggishly off the deck. Wriddhiman Saha struggled to score, and eventually fell to Deepak Chahar whereas skipper Hardik Pandya was foxed by the ball stopping on him, cutting a Mahesh Theekshana delivery straight to point. The table-toppers lost two powerplay wickets and were scoring at under 7 an over.

Chennai kept clipping the wings of the power-packed Gujarat batting order, leaving the defending champions at 98-6. The lower order was left with too much to do as MS Dhoni and his troops coasted home.