Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings – IPL 2026 Match Report | Statz
Gujarat Titans won by 8 wickets (with 20 balls remaining) at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, in the 37th match of 74 in the Indian Premier League 2026 Regular Season. Sai Sudharsan led a clinical chase with 87 off 46, overhauling Chennai Super Kings’ 158/7 with more than three overs to spare. Kagiso Rabada‘s 3/25 had set it up with the ball.
Gujarat Titans won the toss and elected to bowl – a bold call that paid off completely. For Chennai, who now sit 6th in the IPL table with three wins from eight, the defeat raises uncomfortable questions about their top-order fragility against quality pace.
First Innings – Chennai Super Kings: 158/7 (20 overs)
Gujarat opted to field and Rabada struck early, removing Sanju Samson for 11 off 15 (caught at 21 in over 3.3) and then triggering a collapse that saw CSK slump to 37/5 inside nine overs. Urvil Patel went for 4 off 3 at 25/2 in over 3.6, Sarfaraz Khan lasted just one ball before being caught at 26/3 in over 4.4, and Dewald Brevis was caught for 2 off 9 at 37/5 in over 8.2 – Arshad Khan doing much of the damage.
Ruturaj Gaikwad was the exception. The CSK captain batted through the innings for 74* off 60 – six fours and four sixes at strike rate 123 – holding together a batting card that would have otherwise folded well short of 150. Shivam Dube chipped in with 22 off 17 (bowled at 96 in over 15.3), and late cameos from Kartik Sharma (15 off 9 at 122 in over 17.5) and Jamie Overton (18 off 6 at 143 in over 18.6) pushed CSK to a competitive but ultimately insufficient 158/7.
Rabada was the standout bowler with 3/25 off 4 overs (economy 6.25). Mohammed Siraj bowled tidily for 1/23 (economy 5.75), and Jason Holder contributed 0/22 off 4 at economy 5.5. Arshad Khan finished with 2/43 off 4 overs, while Rashid Khan had an expensive day – 0/21 from just 1 over including 5 wides.
Second Innings – Gujarat Titans: 162/2 (16.4 overs)
The chase was straightforward from the moment Sudharsan and Shubman Gill took control. Gill made 33 off 23 (one four, three sixes, strike rate 143) before being stumped at 58/1 in over 6.3. That brought Jos Buttler to the crease, and the pair put on a partnership that settled the match.
Sudharsan was magnificent. Hitting four fours and seven sixes, he moved to 87 off 46 at a strike rate of 189 before being caught at 155/2 in over 16.2 – the only blemish in an innings of controlled aggression. Buttler finished on 39* off 30 (four fours, one six) as Gujarat crossed the line with 20 balls remaining.
For CSK, Noor Ahmad was the pick with 1/29 off 4 (economy 7.25). Akeal Hosein took 1/46 off 3.4 overs. The others – Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh and Overton – went wicketless as Sudharsan and Buttler made the chase look routine.
Statz MVP – Sai Sudharsan (106.08/100)
Statz calculates impact based on match context and rates Sai Sudharsan as the standout performer with an MI rating of 106.08/100 and 167 Dream11 points – the highest of any player in this match. His 87 off 46 with seven sixes drove the chase from start to finish. The official Man of the Match went to Kagiso Rabada for his 3/25 – and that is defensible given the damage he did in the powerplay – but Statz disagrees. In a match decided by the chase, Sudharsan’s batting contribution carries the greater match impact. Across 8 IPL appearances this season, Sudharsan averages 46.73 MI rating.
Top 5 Statz Ratings
- Sai Sudharsan (GT) – 167 Dream11 pts, MI rating 106.08. 87 off 46, seven sixes. Won the match with bat.
- Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK) – 134 Dream11 pts. 74* off 60 – anchored CSK’s innings single-handed.
- Jos Buttler (GT) – 87 Dream11 pts. 39* off 30. Calm and decisive in the chase alongside Sudharsan.
- Kagiso Rabada (GT) – 85 Dream11 pts. 3/25 off 4 overs, economy 6.25. Official MoM, triggered CSK’s powerplay collapse.
- Shubman Gill (GT) – 73 Dream11 pts. 33 off 23, three sixes. Set the platform for Sudharsan at the top.
Turning Point
Chennai Super Kings were 37/5 after Dewald Brevis was caught in over 8.2 – the fifth wicket to fall inside nine overs. The collapse from 21/1 (Samson out at 3.3) to 37/5 in eight overs was the defining moment of the match. That five-wicket burst, engineered largely by Kagiso Rabada and Arshad Khan, restricted CSK to a total that was always going to be insufficient for their bowling attack to defend.
Match Context
Gujarat Titans move to 8 points from 8 matches (W4 L4) in 5th place in the Indian Premier League 2026 Regular Season, NRR -0.475. This is the 37th match of 74 in the season and Gujarat remain right in the mix for a top-four finish, though their NRR leaves little margin for error.
Chennai Super Kings slip to 6th place with 6 points from 8 (W3 L5), NRR -0.121. With 58 of 74 league matches still to play across the competition, there is plenty of time to recover – but CSK’s middle-order fragility against quality pace is a concern that will need addressing if they are to mount a serious playoff challenge.
Full scorecard: statz.ai/cricket/fixtures/69631/gujarat-titans-vs-chennai-super-kings/scorecard
