IPL 2024: Chennai Super Kings showcase batting might as Shivam Dube stars in 63-run rout of Gujarat Titans at Chepauk

SYNOPSIS: With a batting template in tune with the demands of T20 cricket, Chennai Super Kings showed their might at home to bury Gujarat Titans by 63 runs for their second successive win.

A new fortress in making

For a major part of the last decade, Chennai Super Kings’ template at home was to strangle opponents with their spinners. On the slow Chepauk pitches, where they enjoy a win percentage of over 70, this had been their success model. But with batting depth that extends all the way to No.9, CSK’s Plan A is to out-bat the opposition with sheer power.

2⃣ in 2⃣ for Chennai Super Kings 👏👏

That’s some start to #TATAIPL 2024 for the men in yellow 💛

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/9KKISx5poZ#TATAIPL | #CSKvGT | @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/njrS8SkqcM

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 26, 2024

And with a placid pitch rolled out, Chennai took the field with just Ravindra Jadeja as a frontline spinner. Though he ended up bowling just two overs while defending a target of 207, their seam attack – which included Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana and Daryl Mitchell – chipped in with wickets.

Nowhere in the chase

From the moment Shubman Gill perished in the third over, adjudged LBW to Chahar, Gujarat’s chase began to go off-track. Ever since Hardik Pandya moved to Mumbai Indians, there have been concerns of how this batting unit that lacks firepower in the middle order would respond. And faced with their first big challenge, they crumbled under pressure. Having benched Kane Williamson in favour of all-rounder Azmattullah Omarzai and Spencer Johnson to strengthen their bowling, Gujarat seem to be overly dependent on skipper Gill with the bat. With David Miller as a finisher and Rashid Khan being certainties in the XI, Gujarat have to find a way to include Williamson in place of Omarzai or Johnson or risk falling away early in the hunt for the play-offs.

And going by how their chase panned out at Chepauk, Gujarat have every reason to bring in Williamson. Though a target in excess of 200 was always going to be challenging, that they were never in the game in the second half of the fixture told a story in itself as Chennai posted their first win over Gujarat in the league stages of the IPL.

Damage at the top

This is Ruturaj Gaikwad’s fourth full season with Chennai and during this time, he has had three different opening partners in Faf du Plessis, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra. But Gaikwad has forged a solid partnership with all of them. Last season with Gaikwad and Conway at the top, the Powerplay set the tone for Super Kings as they went at 9.35 runs in the first six overs.

Chennai: Chennai Super Kings’ Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rachin Ravindra during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 T20 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans, at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar)

And with Rachin coming in as Gaikwad’s new partner at the top, the trend has continued this season. After scoring 62 Powerplay runs in their opening game, on Tuesday against the Gujarat Titans, Chennai had 69 runs with Rachin providing all the fireworks. The New Zealander was around for only 20 deliveries, but inflicted plenty of damage on Gujarat, scoring 46 runs off those. Though only two runs came off the first over, the next five overs saw Gujarat leaking 11, 12, 16, 17 and 11 runs, as nine boundaries and three sixes came inside the Powerplay. From there on, the only way Gujarat could make a comeback was through Rashid Khan.

Mayhem in the middle

With Rashid and Sai Kishore in their ranks, Gujarat had an opportunity to make a comeback in the middle overs. Even as Ajinkya Rahane struggled to get going, Gaikwad ensured the run rate never dipped. But still Gujarat were beginning to find some control, until Rahane fell to Sai Kishore and Shivam Dube came in at No.4. It meant that with two of their spinners still having more than half of their quotas remaining, Gujarat had to alter their plans, given Dube’s exceptional record against spinners.

Dube wasted no time, as he struck two massive sixes off the first two deliveries he faced off Sai Kishore, shifting pressure back to Gujarat in no time.

In the 13th over, Spencer Johnson accounted for Gaikwad, but then again it had minimal effect on Chennai’s progress. The next two overs from Rashid and Johnson again brought 13 and 14 runs respectively. More than their striking ability, what stood out among the Super Kings batting line-up was the intent and strike rate.

Dube lights up Chepauk

Standing tall in their bold approach was Dube. A batsman who batted out of position at Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rajasthan Royals, he was unleashed at No.4 by CSK last season with the sole intention of taking down spinners. With the new two-bouncers-an-over rule, all eyes were on how Dube – whose struggles against short balls are well documented – would respond. Against RCB as Alzarri Joseph roughed him up with bouncers, it prompted Dale Steyn to tweet: “Short ball tactic is already showing who can and who can’t… Gonna be a long IPL for some batters.”

But in successive matches, Dube has found a simple method to tackle the short stuff. With minimal footwork at work, he has stayed rooted to the crease. Apart from swaying away from the delivery if it is in line with his body, he has tried to play them in front. On Tuesday, as Johnson and Mohit Sharma tested him bouncers – fast and slow – Dube played within his limitations. Apart from rolling his wrists to keep the ball down, when the two bowlers erred on the leg-stump channel, he arched back and pulled them for two boundaries and a six.

• CSK vs GT Live Score, IPL 2024
• How Virat Kohli made a statement with one shot when facing fast bowler Kagiso Rabada
• India vs Australia 2024-25 Test series: Bouncy Perth awaits Rohit Sharma and Co for first match, Adelaide hosts pink-ball Test

With Gujarat’s best-laid plans falling apart, Chennai motored along for their first 200-plus total of the season.

Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 206/6 in 20 overs (Shivam Dube 51, Rachin Ravindra 46, Ruturaj Gaikwad 46) beat Gujarat Titans 143/8 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 37; Tushar Deshpande 2/21) by 63 runs

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.