Gujarat Titans beat Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets at Chepauk on April 26, driven by a composed Sai Sudharsan innings and disciplined bowling on a bounce‑friendly pitch. Titans chased down CSK’s 158 for 7 with 162 for 2 in 16.4 overs, finishing with 20 balls to spare and moving up the table to fifth place with eight points. Sanju Samson also reached a personal milestone, becoming the fastest Indian to reach 5,000 IPL runs during CSK’s innings.
The match hinged on steady, intelligent batting from the Titans and sharp, purposeful bowling early on. Sudharsan produced a match‑defining 87 off 46 balls, striking seven sixes and targeting pace bowlers to keep the chase well under control. He stitched a 58‑run opening stand with captain Shubman Gill, who made a brisk 33 off 23 before falling to Noor Ahmad. Jos Buttler finished unbeaten on 39 off 30, providing calm support as Titans closed out the chase comfortably. Noor Ahmad and Akeal Hosein took one wicket each; most of the CSK attack struggled to contain the flow of runs once Titans had assessed the conditions.
Earlier, CSK were invited to bat and posted 158 for 7 on a pitch that offered steep carry for the seamers. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad rescued the innings with a fighting 74 not out off 60 balls, including six fours and four sixes — his first half‑century of the season. But CSK lost early momentum as Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj repeatedly extracted awkward bounce, forcing a string of miscued shots. Samson reached the 5,000‑run mark after opening up against Rabada but soon fell to a faint edge to Jos Buttler, and his dismissal helped trigger a Powerplay collapse that left CSK 28 for 3 (the Powerplay is the first six overs when fielding restrictions apply).
CSK’s middle order could not rebuild sufficiently: Dewald Brevis and others failed to convert starts, and repeated drops of Shivam Dube proved costly. Titans’ bowlers executed their plans with discipline, and the visitors’ batters showed better awareness of the surface, turning a bowlers’ game into a comfortable chase for Gujarat. (PTI)
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/04/27/sudharsan-masterclass-powers-titans-past-csk/
Category: SPORTS
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Publish Date: 2026-04-27 07:04:00
