The IPL 2023 Qualifier-1 between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday will see tactics, face-offs and, above all, raw emotions take centrestage. After all, if this turns out to be M.S. Dhoni’s farewell season, it is Chennai’s last chance to savour its Thala in action.
Chennai openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway, with their silky wrists, have found form consistently, and along with power-hitter Shivam Dube, they constitute CSK’s engine room that has churned out success this year.
The Titans, too, have had every member of their team make a telling contribution at some point. They chased down 198 against RCB in the last league game — their highest successful chase — with ease, thanks to Shubman Gill, who comes to Chennai riding on back-to-back hundreds.
