After recently scoring a century against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sudharsan hit seven sixes and four fours to lead Gujarat’s chase, effortlessly surpassing CSK’s total of 158/7, finishing at 162/2 in just 16.4 overs.
Chennai’s performance centered around Ruturaj Gaikwad, who scored 74 runs off 60 balls without being dismissed, but he received little assistance from his teammates. The hosts trailed early, collapsing to 37/4 in 8.2 overs, and despite Gaikwad’s perseverance, they could not recover fully. Kagiso Rabada spearheaded Gujarat’s bowling attack with impressive figures of 3/25 in four overs.
Following the victory, Gujarat ascended to fifth place in the standings, marking their fourth win in eight matches, while Chennai fell to sixth place after suffering their fifth defeat in eight games, remaining at six points.
In the evening match on Sunday, Lucknow Super Giants faced Kolkata Knight Riders in a crucial bottom-of-the-table confrontation. Lucknow won the toss and chose to field.
Rabada made the first breakthrough when in-form Chennai batter Sanju Samson was caught behind for 11 runs in the fourth over, followed by Urvil Patel, who was dismissed for four just three balls later.
Sarfaraz Khan was dismissed by Mohammed Siraj for a golden duck, and left-arm spinner Manav Suthar took Dewald Brevis for just two runs. Chennai’s powerplay yielded a disappointing 28-3.
Gaikwad struggled to find form but managed to reach a slow 50 off 49 balls without gaining significant momentum. Contributions from Shivam Dube with 22 and Karthik Sharma with 15 helped push the total beyond 150.
Gujarat’s top order made quick work of the chase. Shubman Gill contributed 33 runs, forging a 58-run partnership for the opening wicket with Sudharsan, who scored 50 off 33 deliveries.
Jos Buttler added an unbeaten 39, partnering with Sudharsan for a crucial 97 runs off 60 balls as the Titans comfortably secured the win with 20 balls remaining.
(With AP inputs)
