Recent Match Report – Super Kings vs Titans 29th Match 2022

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Gujarat Titans 170 for 7 (Miller 94*, Rashid 40, Bravo 3-23) beat Chennai Super Kings 169 for 5 (Gaikwad 73, Joseph 2-34) by three wickets

David Miller may have played his best IPL innings, 94 out of 51, to help Gujarat Titans chase Chennai Super Kings’ 170 out of 16 for 3 and 87 for 5. For the first 17 overs, it was Miller of bust with just 43 not- Miller runs in 59 legal deliveries. They now needed 48 and were 4.2% favorite to win. That was when Rashid Khan, captain in the absence of Hardik Pandya, sensationally lent Miller a hand by beating Chris Jordan for 6, 6, 4 and 6 to make it a routine matter for Titans.

However, Dwayne Bravo was to CSK’s second half what Miller was to Titans’ first half: he threw four overs at a trot, starting with the 13th for 23 runs and three wickets, but the other end leaked 60 of 23 balls without a single wicket to be taken. Bravo ended his spell with two strikes in two balls. One of them was Rashid, which left Titans with 13 for the last one left. Miller now only had the bowlers for company, but it didn’t matter as Jordan continued to miss his Yorker and even bowled a high full toss to bring Titans home with one ball left.

CSK will regret that they slipped in the last overs of both innings. After Ruturaj Gaikwad got back into shape with some fifty and Ambati Rayudu’s intention promised another big finishing kick, their last six overs yielded only 45, the third lowest for a first at bat this season. That after the previous four had gone for 58. It was Alzarri Joseph, who dragged CSK back with Rayudu’s wicket before their deep attack turned things around.

Gaikwad and Rayudu commit to a big finish

Titans managed to get the most explosive powerplay batter of the season, Robin Uthappa, early in the innings after his highest IPL score, and Moeen Ali’s mediocre IPL kept the score at 32 for 2 in the sixth. However, Gaikwad, just 35 in five games before that, and Rayudu rebuilt the innings looking for classic CSK gear in the back 10.

Gaikwad and Rayudu take down the best of them

Aware of the CSK threat in the last 10 overs, Titans immediately brought back the best of their bowlers to try and take a wicket. A total attack awaited them. Gaikwad welcomed Joseph back with a drawn six before Rayudu charged and lifted him up for a long time. Lockie Ferguson went for a six and a four. Rayudu hit Rashid himself for a six. With 124 for 2 in 14, CSK looked good.

Joseph starts comeback, others follow

Joseph played his first game this IPL and made a great comeback in the 15th over. He continued to bowl wide outside to let Rayudu hit the bigger mark. Two plays and misses later, Rayudu somehow caught up with the third, but didn’t go past the low point. Mohammed Shami came back with just four of 16, finishing with numbers of 4-0-20-1. Yash Dayal knocked out Gaikwad with a low full toss for 73 out of 48. Twenty-five balls went without limits as Shivam Dube struggled with the slowness of the field.

Rashid, who may have withdrawn from MS Dhoni, didn’t concede a line in the 19th. It was only Ravindra Jadeja who used the short leg sideline against Ferguson in the last over, taking 18 off, that gave CSK a competitive total.

Theekshana strikes early

With Pandya, their best hitter to date, not playing Titans, he must have looked to Shubman Gill for a significant contribution, but unfortunately the first ball he saw cut – short, wide, begging to be hit – straight to the cover point. Maheesh Theekshana, fresh off a four-four in the final match, turned the screw with the wickets of Vijay Shankar and Abhinav Manohar in the power play. Wriddhiman Saha scored a forgettable 11 out of 18 to make it 48 for 4 after eight overs.

Miller time

Miller looked like he was playing on a different field from where nearly everyone else had struggled with timing in the last 12 overs. While Moeen Ali got a grip and turned away from the bat, Miller still managed to hit a straight four and a six in the ninth and eleventh overs. In the 12th, he opened well, beating Jadeja, who turned the ball into him and hit him with two sixes and a four. Of 87 for 4 in 12 overs, Miller had scored 52 from just 29 balls.

Bravo intervenes

At a time when Miller might be looking for some support on the other side, Bravo started his evening with a wicket maiden. The slower ball dived and grabbed it and was responsible for Rahul Tewatia.

However, Miller kept pushing to make up for Rashid’s slow start. These next three overs were crucial as points could only have come from Miller’s side because Rashid knew there wasn’t much batting behind him. There were runs, and in style. Even Bravo and Theekshana went for sixes, making it 52 from the last four overs. However, Bravo hit back again with a limitless 17th, giving Titans a one in 25 chance of winning.

Rashid .’s Whiplash

With a short leg-side border in play, Rashid unfolded those wrists against Jordan, the most riotous death-overs bowler in IPL chases, in the 18th over. The helicopter sent the first half volley over midwicket. Jordan went wide for second ball, but Rashid made a sensational slice over point for a six over the longer line. Jordan missed the Yorker twice more and went for four and six. By the end of the over, Titans were 56% favorites to win.

Bravo brought back CSK with another slower one to get rid of Rashid. At 13 out of seven, Joseph had a free hit to try and get a boundary, but he found a long distance. He still left Miller on strike before the start of the latter.

Jordan continued to miss his Yorker again, and when he bowled the high full toss with seven required out of three, it was virtually game over. The 38 he allowed from 11 legal balls was only behind Thisara Perera’s 41 in nine balls for runs he conceded at death in an IPL pursuit.

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

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