Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings will have a go at each other in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Tuesday. The winner will progress straight to the final next Sunday.
The losing team will have the solace of playing Qualifier 2 to have another shot at the title clash, as they will face the victor of Eliminator in this match.
So who will emerge winner of Qualifier 1? Let’s take a look at some angles.
CSK — Strength and Weakness
The Super Kings are playing in familiar territory— the Chepauk. Skipper MS Dhoni knows how to tame this ground to perfection and he has made it into an art. They have a perfect set of players who suit this ground.
Openers Devon Conway (585 runs) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (504 runs) have amassed more than 1000 runs among them this season alone. They will give GT’s bowlers led by Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan some challenge. Shivam Dube haș consistently produced high-power innings while on the bowling front, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana and Tushar Deshpande have done well.
While the CSK look a formidable unit at home, they have a soft underbelly too. They haven’t really been able to fit in Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu, who have misfired totally this season, mostly coming in as impact players, and that has added a slight fragility to their middle order.
Key Players: Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube and Matheesha Pathirana.
GT — Strength and Weakness
A well-rounded line-up with match-winning batters swarming the 11 from 1 to 7. Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Hardik Pandya, Rahul Tewatia, all have their own moments in IPL 2023. Their bowling too has been exceptional, with Shami, Rashid, Noor Ahmad and Mohit Sharma helming the unit with aplomb.
However, the glaring weakness has been a weak fifth bowler behind Rashid, Shami, Noor and Mohit. Hardik has not tasted much success as a bowler while pacers like Yash Dayal, whom Rinku Singh carted for five sixes, Alzarri Joseph and Josh Little offered little to bank on. This may haunt them at some point.
Key Players: Shubman Gill, Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan, Hardik Pandya and David Miller.
