CSK vs. GT: Sunday afternoon's midtable struggle
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Titans (GT) have the same record at the midway point of the 2026 Indian Premier League: seven games, three wins, four losses. However, it appears that the two teams are going in different directions.Despite the shortcomings of both teams, things appear to be improving for CSK following their victory over the Mumbai Indians (MI). Sanju Samson has been instrumental in it. He had three single-digit scores at the beginning of the season, but in the last four games, he has made two hundreds and forty-eight. In addition to him, Noor Ahmad has also regained his form following a lacklustre beginning. He has taken five wickets at an economy rate of 6.50 in the last three games. CSK will also benefit from playing at home on Sunday afternoon.
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| Rabada silences Chepauk with hard-length masterclass |
GT is coming off two losses going into this match. GT's issues are structural, whereas CSK's are connected to Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube's form. Their top three are compelled to play low-risk cricket because they lack a potent middle order. As a result, GT has the lowest rate in the competition, averaging 18.3 balls to hit a six. For comparison, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings clear the boundary every 9.4 and 7.6 balls, respectively. With Impact Players and flat surfaces, GT's strategy puts pressure on their bowling assault to produce results, which isn't always feasible.
Apr 26, 2026, 12:48 PM
Is Dhoni going to play today?
MS Dhoni's calf injury is still healing. Thus, anticipate that CSK will field the same team.Chennai Super Kings (probable): 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 3 Sarfaraz Khan, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Dewald Brevis, 6 Kartik Sharma, 7 Jamie Overton, 8 Akeal Hosein, 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Anshul Kamboj, 11 Mukesh Choudhary, 12 Gurjapneet Singh
Additionally, GT might not alter their combination.
Gujarat Titans (probable): 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Washington Sundar, 5 Jason Holder, 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Rahul Tewatia, 9 Manav Suthar, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Mohammed Siraj, 12 Prasidh Krishna
Apr 26, 2026, 1:51 PM
Prasidh and Akeal
CSK was without a new-ball seamer following Khaleel Ahmed's injury. However, Akeal Hosein, a left-arm spinner, is more than capable of doing the task. Although Hosein's ability to swing the new ball is more well-known, he also demonstrated his ability to spin it versus MI. In his first two overs, he took two wickets by catching Danish Malewar's outside edge and beating Naman Dhir's.In the first five games of the season, Prasidh Krishna took 11 wickets; but, in the last two, he has taken just one and gone for 14.16 per over. He appears to be deviating from the hard path that led to all of his achievements; it's not only about the economy rate. If GT wants to dominate the middle overs, he must be back to his best.
Apr 26, 2026, 2:13 PM
Statistics and trivia: CSK's Hosein key?
Hosein has dismissed Shubman Gill twice in 31 balls in Twenty20 cricket while conceding just 29 runs. Even more outstanding is Hosein's record against Jason Holder: 13 balls, two runs, four dismissals.In the IPL, Mohammed Siraj has a strong record against Samson, dismissing him three times in 35 deliveries for a mere 40 runs.
In T20 cricket, Samson has scored at a strike rate of just 112.03 (121 runs off 108 balls) but has only once been dismissed by Rashid Khan.
Apr 26, 2026, 2:30 PM
"How can I forget MS?" they asked
"How am I going to forget MS [Dhoni]? He is making good progress. He is making progress towards recuperation and fulfilling all requests." Stephen Felming, head coach of CSK, on MS Dhoni. They will inevitably wind up playing the majority of balls if they have a good top order. Because they don't given enough game time, the middle order finds it challenging. However, we are content with what we have. Although they haven't performed well in some games, having such a strong order is advantageous.Vijay Dahiya, assistant coach at GTApr 26, 2026, 2:40 PM
We're melting
Welcome to a Chepauk where the majority of people appear to have abandoned their passion for the game out of concern that they may vanish into thin air. Here, it's as hilarious as insert preferred profanity. Good luck to the players who must endure the intense summer heat. If there wasn't a brawl in the dressing room for the impact player role (bat and never ever field), then there is a significant problem.Apr 26, 2026, 2:50 PM
Slow-motion warm-ups
Although the warm-ups are in progress, it is evident that both sides are saving their energy for the game itself. Rabada's activities are limited to spot bowling. Sai Sudharsan and Prasidh are practicing catching. Rashid Khan is jogging, not running. Pitch number six, which is supposed to help spin a little, has been closely examined by Akeal Hosein.Apr 26, 2026, 3:06 PM
Toss: GT bowl
Shubman Gill won the toss and decided to confront the heat right immediately on a day when Chennai had issued severe heat warnings. The Gujarat Titans' decision to bowl first may indicate that their batting lineup, which is largely dependent on the top three, would like to know what they are chasing rather than worrying about setting a total and whether it is par. If anything, spin is predicted to be aided by the conditions, and normal wear and tear may further reinforce this tendency.Putting a total on the board made home skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad very delighted. He mentioned that he's been getting starts and that he will cash in when he believes it's his day, even though he is now out of form. CSK replaced Sarfaraz Khan with Urvil Patel and hinted that they would "play around" with the Impact Player. Prior to the toss, Ramakrishna Ghosh, a substitute who isn't in the starting lineup, had measured his run-up. GT also made a change, substituting Arshad Khan for Rahul Tewatia.
Gujarat Titans 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Shahrukh Khan, 5 Washington Sundar, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Arshad Khan, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Manav Suthar
Impact player options: Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Kulwant Khejroliya, Nishant Sindhu, Rahul Tewatia
Chennai Super Kings 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 3 Urvil Patel, 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Kartik Sharma, 7 Jamie Overton, 8 Akeal Hosein, 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Anshul Kamboj, 11 Gurjapneet Singh
Impact player options: Sarfaraz Khan, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Veer, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Matt Short
Apr 26, 2026, 3:43 PM
Pace is pace
GT's bowling is oppressively good once more. In the first over, Siraj defeated Samson three times in four balls. Rabada began by overcoming Samson's advantage as well. After that, he was hammered for four. The ball had a terrific bounce after hitting the edge. The batter was able to ride it squarely on the off side after the ball that went for four bounced just enough.Apr 26, 2026, 3:49 PM
Is Gaikwad sensing it?
MS Dhoni has never attended a CSK game. On demand, however, he can be heard stating, "Start the whistles." Every time CSK hits a boundary today, the DJ continues to play it. At the toss, Gaikwad said he would cash in when he felt it was his day. Today, he made two boundaries with his first two shots.4 4 0 0 0 2
Apr 26, 2026, 3:53 PM
Samson has left
There's space. It's brief. Samson takes the cut. However, the speed. The speed is 148 km per hour. in this heat. When Rabada is irritated, he becomes someone else, and it's obvious that those early boundaries irritated him. Now that he has his man, CSK will have to play 16.3 overs without their season's top hitter.Samson has scored 304 of CSK's 1274 runs this season, or 24% of the team's total. For GT, getting rid of him early was crucial.
Enjoying his high, Urvil Patel charges at Rabada and uses additional cover to smash him. He tries to step out again at the next ball, but Rabada is too cool. He is brief. He enters the body. Additionally, his pace is BLISTERING. 149 miles per hour. upper edge. Make a mid-on catch. Rabada recalls the line. He gives Urvil a death gaze before dismissing him.
Apr 26, 2026, 4:03 PM
GT Quicks Masterclass
In the first over, Siraj defeated Samson three times in four balls.0 0 0 0 0 1
In the fourth over, Urvil and Samson are dismissed by Rabada.
0 0 W 0 4 W
Sarfaraz is affected by 4 W Siraj's KOs in the fifth over.
0 0 1 W 0 0
When Brevis shows there, Chennai enthusiastically applauds his custom of taking a knee just within the playing field as a symbol of his religion. Fans find it cool. similar to a hero's entrance.
Apr 26, 2026, 4:15 PM
How GT arranged their bowling
Rabada and Siraj bowled through the powerplay for the third time this season. They set up the remainder of the innings for themselves by front-loading their fast bowlers, especially those of such calibre. Siraj and Rabada typically take early wickets. They were searching for more after receiving three today. In the final over of the powerplay, when the fielding side would have been considering containment, they had a slip for new-batter Brevis. They can sneak in inexpensive overs from their backup bowlers after forcing the opponent into rebuilding mode with the early wickets they take. Jason Holder and Manav Suthar are now in charge. It is possible to save Rashid Khan for a few final overs.25 balls have passed since CSK's previous boundary. After eight overs, they are 36 for 3. In more than 3.5, they hit the final of their five boundaries.
Apr 26, 2026, 4:21 PM
Brevis has left
When the ball went straight up off his bat rather than out of the ground as he had planned, he hung his head. It's intriguing. He has only scored two fifties in 20 IPL innings. He has a lot of promise. He has performed for South Africa and even at the SA20 as a result of that. However, he hasn't lived up to the hype at the IPL.Today's powerplay score of 28 is the third-lowest of the season for CSK. They have already lost the most wickets of any side in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) at 18.
Apr 26, 2026, 4:41 PM
Gaikwad's approach
In the IPL 2026 season, Ruturaj Gaikwad has encountered 58 dot balls. He is now in the top three as a result. To put things in perspective, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has encountered fifty dot balls this season. At the summit, Yashasvi Jaiswal has encountered 67 dot balls. Thus, it is obvious that a batter facing a lot of dot balls won't have any issues.It's what they do anytime they have even a slim opportunity to score. In order to make up for it, Jaiswal attacks a lot of balls—24 out of 166 faced, or 15%. So far this season, Gaikwad has played 13 attacking shots (out of 127 faced, or 10%).
It's obvious that the CSK captain would rather settle in before making a bold move. However, the IPL might have evolved past this approach.
Apr 26, 2026, 4:46 PM
The second slowest fifty for CSK
50 CSK achieved their second-slowest IPL time of 11.6 overs. In 2011, they brought it up in 12.1 overs against RCB, which was the only instance in which they went more slowly.However, in the thirteenth over, Gaikwad does open up.
0 6 0 6 0 3
Apr 26, 2026, 4:56 PM
Dube goes after Rashid
He had been held back until the fifteenth over by GT. This is how it turned out.0 1 5w 4 6 1 4
The 30,370-person Chepauk crowd has found their voice. "Duuu-be! Duuu-be! Duuu-be!" is what they are performing.
Apr 26, 2026, 5:00 PM
Dube has left
After a partnership of 59 off 43, Arshad Khan destroys Shivam Dube's stumps. This season, it was CSK's seventh fifty collaboration. Only LSG (3) and GT (6) have performed worse.It appeared that CSK anticipated a dry pitch with some spin available. That hasn't been displayed. Pace has been present. Bounce has occurred. And it's been the perfect friend to GT's bowling attack
Apr 26, 2026, 5:04 PM
Fifty Gaikwad
The skipper of CSK has reached his first fifty in the 2026 Indian Premier League. In his final 11 IPL innings, he also scored his first fifty. He has persevered despite the difficulties in the hopes that the bowlers may eventually have a field day. This surface's speed and bounce will appeal to Overton and Gurjapneet.Apr 26, 2026, 5:21 PM
Overton made a brief appearance
In the 17th and 18th overs, Kartik Sharma and Jamie Overton gave CSK a small boundary lift.1 4 4 0 W 0 1 1w 1w 4 6 4
With the pace and bounce available later in the game, Overton might be a problem. Will CSK, however, have enough players? Gill and Sai Sudharsan ordered this chase tailor. They don't have to take any chances.
Apr 26, 2026, 5:29 PM
CSK 158 for seven
Gaikwad finishes on 74 off 60 balls after leaving a ball in the final over and denying a single. Rabada effectively disrupted CSK's batting lineup and left them to pick up the pieces after taking three wickets, including two in one over. The second-slowest fifty in the IPL was achieved by CSK in 11.6 overs. It was Gaikwad's slowest fifty in the IPL and the slowest since 2022, taking 49 balls. 158 is a "amazing score," according to Shivam Dube in the intermission interview. One batter made 152 less than a day ago. And because the chasing club scored 120 in the powerplay alone, he ended up on the losing side.Apr 26, 2026, 5:55 PM
Gill starts talking
In the final game for GT, Gill was going to run a ball while Sai Sudharsan was hitting it all over the place. Gill stated, "I hope he gives him some strike in the powerplay," during the presentation after they lost the game. Here, Gill is undoubtedly getting struck, and he has been able to profit on the little total in front of him. He has hit 20 of the first 22 runs at a strike rate of more than 200.Apr 26, 2026, 6:14 PM
GT wins the powerplay
With 58 for 0, GT has emerged from the powerplay. For three less wickets, that is twice as much as what CSK scored. However, Gill stumbles to Noor Ahmad down the leg side at 6.2.Apr 26, 2026, 6:56 PM
Fifty Sai Sudharsan
Today, GT reached their hundred more quickly than CSK reached their fifty. Here on his home field, Sai Sudharsan has backed up his hundred from the previous game with a fifty.Apr 26, 2026, 7:15 PM
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