On 23 May, Gujarat Titans will take on Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier of IPL 2023. The match will be played at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Head-to-Head Comparison favours Titans
The sides have met three times in the past. Titans have emerged victorious on all three occasions. In IPL 2022, Titans won by seven wickets and three wickets respectively in the two matches between the sides that season. The two sides met for a third time in the inaugural match of IPL 2023 on 31st March. Titan won that game by 5 wickets.
Bookmakers favour CSK
When the sides meet in Tuesday’s qualifier, that past record will mean little. Regardless of the h2h record that favours GT, bookmakers are not convinced. They give CSK a slight edge. While GT attract odds of 20/21, CSK are quoted at 10/11.
CSK enjoy Home Advantage
The match on Tuesday will be the first game between the former champions to be played in Chennai. The match on 31 March 2023 was hosted by Titans at Ahmedabad. The two clashes of IPL 2022 were played at neutral venues. The sides met in the first one on 29 March 2022 at Pune’s MCA International Stadium. They played the second one on 15 May 2022 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
Positives and Negatives of CSK
Positives
· In-form batters: Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad have been among the best opening pairs on display this season. Rahane’s brilliant form with the bat has more than compensated for the absence of Ben Stokes. Shivam Dube has been a revelation with his prolific six-hitting ability.
· Good seam bowlers: Pathirana has been the find of the season. Clearly inspired by Malinga, the Sri Lankan paceman has been firing in yorkers at close to 150 kmph. At the other end, Deshpande has been consistent and accurate. Consequently, rival batters have not been able to score easily against CSK’s new ball pair.
· Good spin options: Theekshana’s off spin has given CSK a third dimension to add to Jadeja’s slow left-armers and Moeen Ali’s right-arm off breaks.
· Good finishers: While Dube has been the find of the season, Jadeja and Dhoni have pitched in with big hitting in the slog overs.
Negatives
· Poor batting form of Moeen Ali, Rayudu: While the top order batters have fired, CSK have been let down in the middle by Moeen Ali and Rayudu.
Positives and Negatives of GT
Positives
· Shubman Gill in sublime form: Gill has begun to fulfil the promise he showed in the last few years. His ton in the last league game against RCB was a clear sign of his coming of age.
· Decent middle order: Vijay Shankar has been in brilliant batting form this season, giving his team the thrust needed in the middle overs. With Hardik, Miller and Shanaka to follow, GT have a solid middle order.
· Great all-round talent: In Hardik Pandya and Rashid Khan, Titans have arguably the best all-rounders in the business.
· Great finishers: Tewatia has done for Titans what Dube has accomplished for the Super Kings. Tewatia’s ability to hit sixes almost at will in the death overs makes him an outstanding asset to his team.
· Good new ball operators: While Shami is a proven commodity, Mohit Sharma has been the revelation this season. With his ability to peg away on a perfect length, Sharma is among the highest wicket takers for Titans.
· Match-winning spinner: Rashid Khan has proved to be the X-factor for GT, with his ability to take wickets without giving away many runs.
Negatives
· Yash Dayal has proved expensive. Rival teams could exploit the weak link in the GT bowling attack.
· Saha has been inconsistent in the opening slot. GT have not had as many great opening stands as CSK.
Toss Could Prove Crucial
The Chennai wicket has proved to be two-paced. It tends to slow down in the second innings, making stroke making a little difficult after the powerplay overs. Both teams have the spinners to apply the squeeze in the second innings. Thus, the toss could prove crucial to the fortunes of the two sides in the qualifier on Tuesday. The team winning the toss is likely to prefer to bat first and get the runs on the board.
Prediction
GT have established a 3-0 H2H advantage over CSK. However, they have never played in Chennai. CSK’s knowledge of their home conditions could give them the edge. Furthermore, we believe that, overall, the CSK’s batters have better ability against spin bowling. That could prove the winning difference between the sides. So, we predict that CSK will beat GT and qualify for the final to be played in Ahmedabad on Sunday, 28 May.
If you look to bet on this match, check out our article on the best cricket betting sites in India.
