Shubman Gill was dismissed by Deepak Chahar for 42 (Photo: Sportzpics)
Gujarat Titans and Shubman Gill came into Qualifier 1 with all the momentum but with the Yellow Army firmly behind the home team against CSK, the Titans fell.
Deepak Chahar started off with a bang in the final over of his spell – the 13th of Gujarat Titans’ chase of 173. Needing 85 off 42 balls, GT were to follow through in this over. With Ravindra Jadeja and Mahesh Teixana applying the chokes on a track that was entertaining and with enough spin for the master spinners, Chahar was to be clutch for the over if he was to cross the sea of yellow in MA. There was a chance Chidambaram Stadium and Chepauk orchestrator MS Dhoni.
Shubman Gill, coming into Qualifier 1 on the back of two back-to-back hundreds and chasing the target, had faced only 37 balls out of 78 deliveries so far, and that was 12 balls since his last boundary.
IPL 2023 Qualifier 1: GT vs CSK Highlights
Chahar bowled a 111 kmph short ball just down leg; Gill swooped in, but a little too early and found a diving Devon Conway grabbing his chances to qualify straight into the GT finals.
Had it not been for the chokes by Jadeja and Tikshana right after the powerplay, Gill would have waited that extra second to time the ball and pull the short arm jab to perfection.
Till that point Gill had shown immense composure under pressure and denied the CSK spinners on a testing track with pitches to hold and few to stay. Gill’s control percentage when GT’s top-order could not speak anything about the young star’s impeccable technique.
Only Gill stood between CSK and a record 10th finals appearance after CSK put in the bat to score more than 170. Hardik Pandya will look back at his decision at the toss where he opted to bowl first in the hope that dew playing in the second half would make it difficult for CSK’s finger spinners to control the ball. But, it was not to be and that went into the hands of CSK and MS Dhoni. For no reason, and three spinners to play with MSD could have dictated the match as they have done here on several occasions and they did!
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The partisan crowd in Chennai, in anticipation of seeing their ‘Thala’ play at Chepauk for the last time – this season – or perhaps the one last time Dhoni comes out for the toss; When they were shown on the big screen; When he came out to bat he led his team towards the middle after the mid-innings break – with each roar trampling the first one.
But, when Conway took the catch of Gill, Chepauk probably had the loudest roar till then. They knew it was a set game, a match for CSK. Gill stayed for that extra second after that catch, hoping that extra second he could time the delivery.
After an unreal knock of 104 not out against RCB at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Gill would have hoped to repeat the heroics in front of the raucous crowd at the Barn, but he never got to.
They lost Wriddhiman Saha early in the third over, then in the powerplay overs their skipper, Jadeja’s flick undone David Miller’s big hit and later with the wicket of Gill, CSK sealed yet another IPL title. Headed to the finals.
However, the season is not over for Gill yet – GT will face the winner of the Eliminator at home and could possibly look to redeem themselves. This was GT’s fourth defeat in the chase in 18 matches and their first for CSK.
Gill, however, has shown the world that he is here to stay. While there were glimpses of his incredible talent when he turned heads at KKR after his debut in 2018 and then with a stellar international run at the start of the year, the level-headedness, and assurance Gill brought to this Gujarat Titans and their status elevated. From The Next Big Thing to The Crown Prince. His score of 42 today means he is still eight runs behind the Orange Cap leader – RCB’s Faf du Plessis, but he has one more game to play and potentially a bigger one, if GT is possible in this IPL. : May leave behind the worst performance ever. Tonight at MA Chidambaram Stadium, and rally.
GT, a nearly unbeatable team this year, bowing to such a meek surrender, a testament to how tough it is to beat CSK in their den, even though they just finished through the playoffs and have spent most of the ‘IPL written off by the ‘experts’. ,
