Tata IPL 2023 Qualifier 1 Preview

With the penultimate group stage match being played, the stage is set for the playoffs with - Gujarat Titans, Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians making it to the Qualifiers. The first qualifiers will be played between the Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings at M A Chidambaram, which is the fortress of the Super Kings. Super Kings have never won against the Titans yet but the Titans haven't played at M A Chidambaram which perfectly sets the stage for the Qualifier 1 of the 2023 Edition of Tata IPL.

Probable Lineups: 

CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk/c), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana

GT: Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Dasun Shanaka, Mohit Sharma, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad

This will be the first knockouts stage with the impact player rule, so keep an eye on the impact players

CSK: 

CSK have won 3 out of their last 5 matches losing one and the other being abandoned. CSK have won 8 out of their 14 games, sitting in 2nd position due to better NRR than the Lucknow Super Giants who are equal with 17 points. 

The openers of CSK- Conway and Ruturaj are in hot form along with the likes of Shivam Dube and Rahane in the middle order. Jadeja and Dhoni are always there to take care of the dead overs, such is the depth of CSK's batting. 

In bowling, Tushar Deshpande- the leading wicket-taker for CSK has the support of Patheerana who is in red-hot form. Other bowlers too stepped up like Deepak Chahar, Theeksena, and Jadeja to make the opposition team's batting stumble. 

Going into the Qualifier CSK will be confident with their playing XI coupled with home-ground advantage and will look to seal their tickets to the finals after having finished 9th last season. 

GT: 

GT have won 4 out of their last 5 matches losing just one. GT has won 10 out of their 14 games, sitting comfortably in 1st position with 20 points. The opener of GT - Shubham Gill is in fiery form, scoring 2 back to back centuries. The bowling of Gujarat is arguably the best in the league with Shami and Rashid Khan both tied up on 24 wickets a piece. 

The conditions of the pitch will be a new experience for GT.

And the question remains whether or not GT can breach the fortress of the Yellow Army. 

Pitch Report: 

A total of 4-5 different pitches have been used at Chepauk and it will remain to see which pitch is used. Two pitches are high scoring (170-200) whereas the other two are slow tracks which will see a lot of spin and cutters. Ideally whoever wins the toss will look to chase as chasing has been successful here.

It will be an interesting match, one that will go down to the wire. The loser of Qualifier 1 will get a chance again in Qualifier they will face the winner of Eliminator. 

CSK will look to take advantage of home conditions whereas Gujarat will look to spoil the party.

Let the action begin.