Chennai Super Kings (IPL) and Gujarat Titans (GT) have arrived at the Chepauk to fight for the ticket to the finale. It’s the Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and the team that wins tonight in Chennai will be through to the big final, scheduled to be played in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The losing side will get another chance to prove their worth as they will square off against the winners of the Eliminator.
LIVE: GT vs CSK, IPL 2023 Qualifier 1
Meanwhile, the defending champions won the toss and have decided to bowl first at the M Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Speaking with commentator Ravi Shastri, GT skipper Hardik Pandya revealed the changes to their playing XI. He said Darshan Nalkande has replaced Yash Dayal in the line-up.
“We will bowl first. We heard dew will come, so we want to know what exactly to chase down. We were told to relax after getting into the top-2, but we didn’t want, want to stay focussed and play good cricket. We are a smart team, we don’t play only one way, we make sure to get the best out of the wicket and have adapted. Darshan Nalkande comes in place of Yash Dayal,” said GT captain Hardik Pandya.
CSK, on the other hand, have fielded an unchanged XI in the Qualifier 1.
“We wanted to bowl first, the reason being they’re an excellent chasing side. We’ve exploited the conditions slightly better, in a tournament like this, the boys have adapted really well. It’s important to back your strengths, the confidence level should be high. They’ve been able to do that and that’s why we have done well. There was a lot of dew in the last game, but with the breeze around, we can’t say about it tonight, but it does look dry. We’re playing the same team,” said CSK captain MS Dhoni.
Here’re the playing XIs:
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana.
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Hardik Pandya(c), Dasun Shanaka, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Darshan Nalkande, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami.
