What happened in the last IPL playoffs match at the Chepauk in Chennai

The stage is set for Gujarat Titans (GT) to take on the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the much-awaited Qualifier 1 of the ongoing IPL 2023. The fixture is scheduled to be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Tuesday, May 23.

The Eliminator between the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) will also be hosted by MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday, May 24.

The last time Chepauk hosted an IPL playoffs match was back in 2019 when Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians faced off in Qualifier 1. The clash between the top two teams in IPL 2019 saw MI beat CSK by six wickets and become the first team to enter the IPL 2019 Final.

After opting to bat first, Chennai were pushed back early as Mumbai spinners strangulated CSK to 32/3 inside the powerplay. CSK needed a move-on at that stage and Ambati Rayudu and Murali Vijay stepped up, motoring along for a counter-attacking partnership until Rahul Chahar bowled a beauty to dismiss Vijay.

Then came skipper MS Dhoni - who began in his usual style. He and Rayudu struck a useful stand of 66* runs. Although Rayudu made 42* and Dhoni remained unbeaten at 37, MI bowlers didn't leak a lot of runs at the back end and restricted CSK to 131/4.

Rahul Chahar was the pick of the bowlers for MI, returning outstanding figures of 2/14.

The target of 132 wasn't a big one but once the below-par Chepauk pitch was factored in, the chasing team had their own set of challenges.

Suryakumar Yadav held MI's chase together vs CSK [IPLT20]

With senior players Rohit Sharma (4) and Quinton de Kock (8) returning quickly, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan (28 off 31 balls) traded their natural flair for caution and added 80 runs that set the platform. While Suryakumar hit 10 fours, Ishan had one four and a six in his innings.

While Imran Tahir (2/33) dismissed Ishan and Krunal Pandya (0) off successive deliveries in the 14th over, it was more of a minor scare as Suryakumar anchored the chase with ease in Hardik Pandya's (13*) company.

On a sluggish pitch, which offered considerable turn and odd bounce, Suryakumar batted in a copybook fashion, scoring an unbeaten 71 off 54 balls to guide MI into the final with six wickets and nine balls to spare.

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CSK will look to bag their first win over GT and seal their spot in IPL 2023 final

CSK and GT, who will lock horns in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2023, have faced off thrice in IPL history. Remarkably, the Titans have been victorious in all those three games, twice in 2022 and once earlier this season.

CSK will look to put the head-to-head record behind them and come out with positive intent. The Super Kings have qualified for the final the most times (9) in lPL history and will want to become the first-ever team to play in 10 IPL finals.

Gujarat have been the team to beat this season, however. They won ten of their 14 league matches and will be riding high on confidence. The upcoming clash is expected to be a high-octane one, with both teams trying their best to outdo each other.