Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad and India's Anshul Khamboj took three wickets each, as did Ravindra Jadeja, triggering a dramatic batting collapse as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bowled out hosts Gujarat Titans for only 147 runs in 18.3 overs.
This thunderous bowling performance gave CSK an overwhelming win by 83 runs in Match 67 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
It was a Sunday to remember for the five-time title-holders as they completed their season in style with a resounding victory over Gujarat Titans.
This outcome has some serious implications for the IPL playoffs. This loss has eliminated Gujarat Titans' top-two hopes for now. Mumbai Indians, who play Punjab Kings on Monday, will go over them in the points table, while Royal Challengers Bangalore might push GT down further into an Eliminator spot if they beat Lucknow Super Giants in their last league match.
Deciding to play first, CSK constructed a strong total of 230/5 in 20 overs, courtesy of strong half-centuries by Dewald Brevis and Devon Conway, with the help of rapid cameos from newcomers Ayush Mhatre and Urvish Patel.
Coming in to defend this commanding total, CSK skipper M.S. Dhoni left the ball to his experienced campaigner, Ravindra Jadeja, who gave only seven runs in his opening over. Shubman Gill (13) and Sai Sudharsan (41) then started steadily with boundaries off Khaleel Ahmed in the next over.
Gill demonstrated his class with a brilliant straight drive after walking down the pitch, hitting a six off Anshul Khamboj. But Khamboj struck back in the next ball, snagging Gill's outside edge to Urvil Patel in the slips.
Things went from bad to worse for Gujarat Titans as Jos Buttler (7) went after a back-of-the-length ball outside off by Khaleel and edged it straight to Khamboj, who held on to the catch. Sherfane Rutherford's short innings came to an end for a duck when he mistimed a pull shot and gave Khamboj his second wicket. GT were reeling at 35/3 at the powerplay's end.
Sudharsan staked a claim with a no-frills knock, scoring 54 runs in partnership with Shahrukh Khan (19) at the fourth wicket. Both batsmen did a quick 18 in the 10th over off Shivam Dube but Jadeja would not allow GT to get going, taking out both the batsmen in the next over itself.
A thick edge by Shahrukh on the first ball went to Pathirana at short third-man, who just about let the catch go. Sudharsan followed soon when he played a shorter ball straight to Dube at backward point.
Gujarat Titans' comeback hopes were effectively killed from that moment on.
Rashid Khan (12) smashed a four and a six before becoming the victim of his Afghan colleague Noor Ahmad. Matheesha Pathirana knocked over leg stump of Gerald Coetzee (5). Rahul Tewatia (14) and Arshad Khan (20) treated the Ahmedabad crowd to some sixes but couldn't arrest the decline as Noor Ahmad picked both the wickets and became the Purple Cap holder as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament by surpassing Prasidh Krishna.
Khamboj returned in the penultimate over to remove Sai Kishore, sealing the match and the 83-run victory for CSK.
Earlier, in the first innings, Ayush Mhatre got off to a blistering start, smashing 28 runs off Arshad Khan in the second over before a slower full delivery from Prasidh Krishna led to a mistimed shot straight to Siraj at mid-off, ending Mhatre’s 17-ball assault.
Urvish Patel started his innings with a six off Siraj, while Conway added two successive boundaries off Prasidh to take CSK to a season-high powerplay score of 68/1.
Sai Kishore sent Patel packing after hitting a six on the opening ball of the 10th over, with Patel cutting the ball to Gill at extra cover. Shivam Dube also got going soon by hitting Kishore for a six down the ground straight.
At his approach to fifty, it was Shahrukh Khan who claimed his first wicket of the tournament by casting out Dube, who provided a straightforward catch to Gerald Coetzee from a full-length delivery pitched at the pads.
Conway brought up his 11th IPL half-century in 34 balls with six boundaries and two sixes before being bowled the very next ball.
Although Jadeja turned the strike over effectively, Dewald Brevis continued in that vein with positive strokeplay. Brevis dispatched a six off Rashid, then a six and four off Coetzee, and a reverse sweep boundary off Arshad, taking CSK past the 200-run barrier with two overs to go.
Brevis changed gears, hitting consecutive sixes off Siraj before reaching the boundary and backward point, ending on his second half-century of the season off 19 balls.
Prasidh Krishna stuck to economy in the last over, giving nine runs including a six, before Brevis drove the last ball high in the air, and Jos Buttler finished the catch.
Though CSK will derive consolation from finishing on a high, they were unable to enhance their net run rate sufficiently to leapfrog Rajasthan Royals and hence ended at the lowest rung of the points table for the first time in franchise history.
Brief Scores:
Chennai Super Kings 230/5 in 20 overs (Dewald Brevis 57, Devon Conway 52; Prasidh Krishna 2-22, Rashid Khan 1-42)
Gujarat Titans 147 all out in 18.3 overs (Sai Sudharsan 41, Arshad Khan 20; Anshul Khamboj 3-13, Noor Ahmad 3-21, Ravindra Jadeja 2-17)
CSK won by 83 runs.
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