3 similarities between GT's defeat to CSK at Chepauk in IPL 2024 and 2023

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) made it even-steven against the Gujarat Titans (GT) when the two sides clashed in the seventh match of the ongoing 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). CSK clinched their third consecutive victory against the 2022 champions to make their IPL head-to-head record 3-3.

GT made their way into the IPL in 2022 as one of the two new teams that were added to the tournament. They went on to defeat CSK twice that season before beating them in the IPL 2023 campaign opener. The Yellow Army then beat GT in Qualifier 1 and Final of the IPL 2023 before emerging victorious in their recently concluded league match of the IPL 2024.

CSK have beaten GT twice at home, the MA Chidambaram Stadium, in two seasons. The 2023 champions defeated the 2022 champions in Qualifier 1 last year to make their way into the summit clash and safeguarded their fortress again this year as GT suffered a 63-run loss.

While there was a shift in captaincy of both teams between their encounters last year and this year. Shubman Gill took charge for GT and Ruturaj Gaikwad took over the reins from MS Dhoni, there still were a few similarities between Gujarat’s loss to Chennai in IPL 2023 and the recent loss of IPL 2024.

Delving deeper into it, let’s look at three similarities between GT’s loss to CSK in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2023 and their defeat to the Men in Yellow in Match 7 of IPL 2024.

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#3 Rashid Khan’s struggle at Chepauk

One of the finest spinners in world cricket currently, Rashid Khan struggled to create an impact in both games. Though the pitch acted differently last year as compared to this season, the Afghanistan all-rounder’s economy continued to be on the higher end.

In the IPL 2023 Qualifier clash, Rashid finished with 1/37 in his four-over spell. He conceded two fours and a six and finished at 9.25. His sole wicket included that of CSK’s middle-order batter Ambati Rayudu whose innings was cut short as soon as he got going.

At the IPL 2024, when CSK hosted GT for a league stage game on March 26, Rashid Khan doubled the number of scalps but his economy rate worsened. While he managed to dismiss two in-form batters, Rachin Ravindra and Shivam Dube, the Afghan cricketer eventually registered worrying figures of 2/49 in four overs, taking his economy to 12.25.

Across both the games at Chepauk, Rashid Khan has struggled with the ball and has failed to keep the CSK batters in check.

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#2 A one-sided fight between CSK’s bowlers and GT’s almost-similar middle-order lineup

While there have been a good amount of changes to GT’s lineup this year, they had David Miller, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan as the common faces in the middle-order in IPL 2023 and the recently concluded game of the 2024 edition.

All four batters have put up match-winning performances for the Gujarat-based outfit in the past, but their struggle to get going against the CSK bowlers at the latter’s home ground continued. Miller’s 4(6), Shankar’s 14(10), Tewatia’s 3(5), and Khan’s 30(16) from 2023 saw little to no improvement.

Facing CSK in GT’s second match of their IPL 2024 campaign, Miller posted 21 off 16 while Shankar finished with a run-a-ball 12. Tewatia was dismissed cheaply again, scoring a mere six runs off 11 deliveries. Rashid, who was phenomenal last season, found his way back to the dugout after facing just two deliveries (1 off 2).

CSK’s bowling unit saw the addition of Daryl Mitchell and Mustafizur Rahman, who joined hands with other bowlers to keep GT batters in check.

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#1 Deepak Chahar’s dominance against GT openers

Deepak Chahar is widely known for his new-ball antics as he frequently provides CSK with crucial breakthroughs in powerplay overs. Gujarat Titans’ openers- Shubman Gill and Wridhiman Saha could not tackle the obstacle named Chahar last season, and they showed no improvement this time around either.

In both the encounters under discussion here, Chahar finished with two wickets to his name with a similar economy rate, ranging between 7-7.25. Interestingly, both encounters saw Deepak Chahar dismissing keeper-batter Saha and the current GT captain Gill.

Gill’s performance saw a decline this year. While he finished with 42 runs to his name in Qualifier 1 in 2023, he could gather just eight runs in five deliveries before Chahar sent him packing. Interestingly, Chahar has dismissed Saha in CSK’s all three victorious outings against GT, including the IPL 2023 final.