Ravindra Jadeja had his first taste of victory as captain in Chennai Super Kings (CSK) last game but now faces a stern test against Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans (GT) when the two teams lock at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune in the second game on Sunday April 17.
The CSK will however be worried about the form of Ruturaj Gaikwad who has not yet crossed the 20 point mark this season. Moeen Ali found no consistency and they deeply missed Deepak Chahar’s serves with Mukesh Choudhary leaking and having an 11.10 save rate. CSK could finally be convinced to give U-19 World Cup star Rajvardhan Hangargekar a chance.
GT has a strong team but Matthew Wade and Vijay Shankar have struggled with consistency and will want to fix that. However, the bowling looked deadly with Mohammed Shami, Ferguson and Hardik accounting for 19 wickets between them. Rashid Khan had a relatively calm start with 6 wickets but controls the innings impressively in the middle.
GT vs CSK Team News:
GT Team News: Gujarat are in good form and will be hesitant to cobble together a winning combination. They haven’t had any injury problems since the last game.
GT vs CSK presentation report: The MCA Stadium track, Pune saw a high-scoring encounter in the final game as Punjab posted 198/5 against Mumbai. Gujarat played one game at the venue where they defended 171/6 against Delhi while CSK will play their first game here. Being the second game of the day, dew should play a part and captains will be looking to chase.
Where to watch live: The match begins at 7:30 PM IST on Sunday, April 17 with the draw scheduled for 7:00 PM IST. The match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports Network. Viewers can also tune in to the action via Disney+ Hotstar.
Top Fantasy league picks between GT and CSK:
Best batting picks: Shubman Gill has 200 runs to his name in 5 games and looks likely to add to that tally after starting the season in fine form. Meanwhile, CSK’s duo of Dube and Uthappa also look in fine form ahead of this tie.
Top All-Round Picks: Both captains should provide valuable options in the all-rounder slot. Hardik has been the more influential of the two with 4 wickets and 228 runs as he leads the way with bat for Gujarat while Jadeja has 4 wickets and 66 runs in 5 games.
Best Bowling Picks: Ferguson is the highest wicket taker in Gujarat with 8 wickets and he can be backed to be among the wickets again with his fiery pace. Rashid Khan is another one who can be expected to hit with his wide range of variations, especially after a relatively quiet start which yielded only 6 wickets.
GT vs. CSK Possible Playing XIs:
CSK (Expected XI): Robin Uthappa, Rituraj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja (C), Shivam Dube, MS Dhoni (WK), Dwayne Bravo, Chris Jordan, Maheesh Theekshana and Rajyavardhan Hangrekar.
GT (predicted XI): Matthew Wade (wk), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami and Yash Dayal.
Full Teams GT vs CSK:
Chennai Super Kings: Ravindra Jadeja (captain), Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Ambati Rayadu, Robin Uthappa, Mitchell Santner, Chris Jordan, Adam Milne, Devon Conway, Shivam Dube, Dwaine Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Tushar Deshpande, KM Asif, C Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Subranshu Senapati, K Bhagath Verma, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary.
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (captain), Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Gurkeerat Singh, B Sai Sudarshan, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Matthew Wade, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Wriddhiman Saha, Alzarri Joseph, Darshan Nalkande, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Pradeep Sangwan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Varun Aaron, Yash Dayal.
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