Chennai Super Kings go into Sunday’s mid-season IPL encounter with Gujarat Titans looking to strengthen their grip on a playoff spot in the upper half of the table, while the visitors will be desperate to halt a recent slide. CSK have steadied their campaign after a slow beginning, winning three of their last four games. A key highlight came in their dominant 103-run win over Mumbai Indians, a performance that owed much to Sanju Samson’s second century of the season. With Ruturaj Gaikwad steering the side, Chennai sit just outside the top four on six points and will want to keep momentum going rather than allow another wobble.
For CSK, the recent turnaround has been driven by a blend of batting firepower and controlled bowling. Samson’s form with the bat has provided the spark, and the bowling unit—led by Akeal Hosein’s impact—has consistently delivered pressure at crucial moments. The victory over Mumbai Indians also carried an added edge because Chennai managed the win without their talisman MS Dhoni, who is sidelined with a calf injury, and without local player Ayush Mhatre, who has been ruled out due to a hamstring problem. Mhatre has still contributed 201 runs this season, underlining the depth he has offered when available.
Even with the positives, CSK are not without issues. Their top order has generally been reliable, but the middle overs and the batting middle order have struggled to show the necessary intent and to build partnerships. In their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai were well placed to chase 130 from 90 balls with eight wickets in hand, yet a collapse in the batting middle order scuppered the chase. Another area of concern is conversion—Gaikwad has been going through a lean patch, and a similar theme has been seen for Rajasthan Royals’ Riyan Parag. Meanwhile, names such as Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis have not been able to turn promising starts into match-defining totals.
On the bowling front, however, Chennai’s story has been far more reassuring. Anshul Kamboj has continued to reap rewards for his steady performances, leading the wicket charts with 14 scalps. Jamie Overton has added nine wickets, including a four-wicket haul earlier in the tournament. Noor Ahmad has also maintained accuracy and control, while Hosein underlined his value with a four-wicket spell in the previous outing.
Gujarat Titans, meanwhile, have been dealing with missed chances. After a promising start to the season, they have dropped their last two matches—first a 99-run defeat against MI, followed by a five-wicket loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Friday. Although GT are level on six points with CSK, they sit in seventh place because of a poor net run rate of -0.790, a factor that has weighed heavily on their standings.
The Titans’ approach has also come under scrutiny, particularly in a format that increasingly rewards aggression. Their middle order has often failed to capitalise when they’ve made strong beginnings, leaving them short of the momentum needed to set or chase sizeable totals. In the most recent game versus RCB, Gujarat looked set to post a score of 230-plus, but they were unable to accelerate effectively between the 16th and 19th overs—an interval that ultimately proved decisive. Fielding lapses have further compounded their problems, including a costly drop of Virat Kohli.
Skipper Shubman Gill summed up the swing of that RCB contest, saying, “We didn’t get as many runs as we would have liked. Those three overs were very crucial for us.”
When it comes to bowling, Gujarat do have tools at their disposal. Their pace-heavy unit includes Prasidh Krishna, Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj, and young Ashok Sharma has also contributed with six wickets. Still, the Titans have not consistently been able to hit the right lengths, particularly during the middle overs where batters often look to take control. In spin, Rashid Khan remains their most dependable option, while Manav Suthar has featured in only one match so far and Washington Sundar has not made a significant impact yet.
There has been one major bright spot in Gujarat’s season in the form of Sai Sudharsan’s impressive century against RCB. With the bat, Gill has also led from the front, accumulating 293 runs that include three fifties, while Jos Buttler has contributed 231 runs.
Squads
Gujarat Titans: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Shahrukh Khan, Anuj Rawat, Jos Buttler, Kumar Kushagra, Tom Banton, Glenn Phillips, Jason Holder, Nishant Sindhu, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Arshad Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Manav Suthar, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna.
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Kartik Sharma (wk), Dewald Brevis, Sarfaraz Khan, Urvil Patel (wk), Aman Khan, Shivam Dube, Zak Foulkes, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Anshul Kamboj, Jamie Overton, Matthew Short, Prashant Veer, Rahul Chahar, Shreyas Gopal, Gurjapneet Singh, Matt Henry, Akeal Hosein, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary, Noor Ahmad.
The match is scheduled to begin at 3:30pm IST.
