The reigning champions Gujarat Titans (GT) will take on four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Qualifier 1 match of the Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL) at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday, May 23. Gujarat Titans eliminated Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last league stage game with a dominant six-wicket win. Shubman Gill smashed his second IPL hundred of the season to help GT chase a 198-run target with five balls remaining. This was the 10th win for the Titans in the league stages this season but face a tough challenge against CSK at Chepauk.
Chennai Super Kings clinched the second position with a huge morale-boosting win against Delhi Capitals in the last game. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway produced big knocks to guide CSK to a total of 223/3 against DC. Then improving Deepak Chahar took three wickets to restrict Delhi to just 146/9. Chennai will be extra motivated due to their recent big win and will also have the advantage of playing at home. Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans lead the head-to-head record with three wins in three games against Chennai Super Kings but both teams are facing each other at Chepauk for the first time.
Match Details
Match: IPL 2023, Qualifier 1
Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Date & Time: Tuesday, May 23, 7:30 PM IST
Broadcast and Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and JioCinema
GT vs CSK Probable Playing XIs
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya (c), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Dasun Shanaka, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami, Yash Dayal, Mohit Sharma (Impact Player)
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Ambati Rayudu (Impact Player)
Pitch and Weather Report
The pitch at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium favors both batters and bowlers in T20 cricket. The average first innings score here is 163 in 77 IPL matches with teams batting first winning 44 games so far. Chepauk's surface traditionally helps spinners but batters have managed to dominate the majority of games this season with four 200-plus totals.
There is no forecast for rain in Chennai during game time. Temperature is likely to hover around 32 degree Celsius during game time and will decrease to 31 towards the end of game time. There is a 0% of chance of rain during the match time.
GT vs CSK Predictions
Best Batter of the Match: Ruturaj Gaikwad
CSK opener recorded 79 off 50 and took two crucial catches against Delhi Capitals in the last game to clinch the Player of the Match award. Gaikwad smashed 92 off 50 against Gujarat Titans when both teams last faced each other in the tournament's opener this season. Gaikwad has amazing numbers against the Titans with three fifties in three innings so far. He has been in exceptional form in IPL 2023 with 504 runs from 13 innings at an average of 42.00 and a strike rate of 148.23 so far.
Best Bowler of the Match: Mohammed Shami
The experienced Indian pacer took just one wicket and proved a little costly against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last game. But he is enjoying his best IPL season so far as he leads the Purple Cap race with 24 wickets in 14 innings at an impressive economy rate of 7.70 in IPL 2023. Shami took two wickets for 29 against CSK in the season's opener clash and has taken five wickets in the last three encounters against CSK.
Who will win the Match: Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
