The first qualifier of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 will be played between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. These two teams met only once in the group stage, where Gujarat Titans registered a comfortable win by 5 wickets.
In the league stage of the IPL 2023, GT won 10 of their 14 matches, and ended at the top spot on the points table, with 20 points to their tally and a net run rate of +0.809. On the other hand, CSK pulled off 8 wins of their 14 games this season, and ended in the second position on the points table, with 17 points to their tally and a net run rate of +0.652.
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These two teams have met thrice in the history of IPL so far, where Gujarat Titans have managed to clean sweep the men in Yellow. An exciting encounter is anticipated here between these two teams on Tuesday as the winner of the game will be reaching the final of the tournament and the loser will get another chance to reach the summit clash in the second qualifier.
Gujarat Titans (GT)
Vijay Shankar regained full fitness ahead of Sunday’s league game against RCB and played a match-winning knock as an impact sub while batting at No.3. Considering Dasun Shanaka hasn’t had a lot to do with both bat and ball, GT might turn to Joshua Little, in the XI or as the impact sub. The Southpaw fast bowler, who was away for the Ireland-Bangladesh series, returned to the GT squad ahead of the weekend fixture against RCB. He also trained in Chennai on the eve of the first qualifier.
Probable XI: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya (c), Sai Sudharsan/Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Yash Dayal
Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
With Deepak Chahar taking regular wickets in the PowerPlay, the early match-up between him and Shubman Gill will be crucial to the direction the game takes. The CSK pacer, however, has dismissed him twice. Though Ajinkya Rahane has flattered to deceive in home games, he has an admirable record against Mohammed Shami – smashing 86 at a strike rate of 168.63 without getting dismissed. Against Hardik Pandya, Dhoni will hand the ball to Ravindra Jadeja who has got the GT captain out twice in 16 balls.
Probable XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(c/wk), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana
Fantasy XI Suggestion 1:
Wriddhiman Saha, Devon Conway, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Mohammad Shami, Rashid Khan (vc), Matheesha Pathirana
Fantasy XI Suggestion 2:
Wriddhiman Saha, Devon Conway, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja (vc), Moeen Ali, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Mohammad Shami, Rashid Khan (c), Noor Ahmed
