Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings – IPL 2026 Match Report | Statz
Gujarat Titans won by 89 runs. This was the 66th match of 74 in the IPL 2026 Regular Season, played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to bowl – a decision that backfired spectacularly as Gujarat Titans posted 229/4 before bowling CSK out for 140 in just 13.4 overs. The result cements GT’s grip on 2nd place (18 pts from 14, W9 L5), while CSK’s third straight defeat leaves them 7th on 12 points with their playoff hopes all but extinguished.
First Innings – Gujarat Titans: 229/4 (20 overs)
Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan set the tone from ball one. Gill was the aggressor early, striking seven fours and three sixes in a blistering 64 off 37 at a strike rate of 173. The pair put on 125 for the first wicket before Gill was caught in over 12.2 – a stand that gave GT total control of the innings.
Sudharsan continued the assault, compiling 84 off 53 with seven fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 158. He anchored the innings through the middle overs while the firepower came from the other end. Jos Buttler walked in and immediately went through the gears – an unbeaten 57 off just 27 balls, striking at 211 with five fours and four sixes. The pair added 82 before Sudharsan fell caught at 207 in over 18.2. Rahul Tewatia was run out for a duck off the very next ball (207 in over 18.3), but it barely mattered. Washington Sundar chipped in with 7 off 3 including a six before falling at 229 in over 19.6 as GT maximised every delivery.
CSK’s bowlers were hammered. Anshul Kamboj went for 56 off his 4 overs at an economy of 14. Spencer Johnson conceded 47 from 4 overs (economy 11.75) with 6 wides and a no-ball – wasteful on top of expensive. Noor Ahmad leaked 41 from just 3 overs at 13.67. Mukesh Choudhary (1/36 from 4) and Johnson (1/47) each took a wicket, while Kamboj also claimed one (1/56), but the damage was done. Shivam Dube bowled a solitary over that went for 15, and Gurjapneet Singh conceded 31 from 4 wicketless overs.
Second Innings – Chennai Super Kings: 140 all out (13.4 overs)
The chase was over before it started. Sanju Samson was caught off the very first ball of the innings – 0/1 in over 0.1 – and the collapse was on. Ruturaj Gaikwad counter-attacked brilliantly with 16 off 7 (a four and two sixes, strike rate 229) but was bowled at 29 in over 2.2. Urvil Patel followed for a duck two balls later (29 in over 2.4) – 29/3 and CSK were already drowning.
Matthew Short offered brief resistance with 24 off 14 (three fours, one six, strike rate 171) but was caught at 51 in over 5.1. Kartik Sharma ground out 19 off 15 before being run out at 63 in over 6.6 – five down with less than half the target on the board.
Then came Shivam Dube. In a remarkable lone hand, Dube smashed 47 off just 17 balls – four fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 276. He dragged CSK from 63/5 to 116/6, briefly making the impossible look merely improbable, before being caught at 116 in over 10.3. Anshul Kamboj continued the lower-order hitting with 19 off 8 (a four and two sixes) but wickets kept falling. Dewald Brevis managed just 8 off 10 at a strike rate of 80 before being caught at 138 in over 12.4. The innings ended at 140 all out in 13.4 overs – 90 runs and 38 balls short of the target.
Mohammed Siraj was devastating with 3/26 from 3 overs. Rashid Khan was equally destructive – 3/18 from just 2 overs at an economy of 9. Kagiso Rabada finished things off with 3/32 from 3.4 overs. Nine wickets shared between three bowlers, all taking exactly three each – a clinical team bowling effort.
Statz MVP – Shivam Dube (99.7)
Shivam Dube scored 99.7 on Statz’s impact rating – which calculates impact based on match context. His 47 off 17 was the only innings of substance in a CSK batting lineup that collapsed around him. Coming in at 63/5 and taking the attack to GT’s bowlers with four sixes and four fours at a strike rate of 276, Dube single-handedly kept the chase alive.
The official Man of the Match went to Mohammed Siraj for his 3/26 (Statz rating: 81.53). That’s a reasonable pick from the winning side, but Statz’s model sees Dube’s innings as having greater contextual impact – batting against the odds in a collapsing chase is weighted more heavily than bowling to a side already behind the rate.
Top 5 Statz Ratings
- Shivam Dube (CSK) – 99.7 – 47 off 17 (4×4, 4×6) at SR 276. A stunning lone hand in a collapsing chase, the highest-rated performance of the match despite being on the losing side.
- Jos Buttler (GT) – 84.24 – 57* off 27 (5×4, 4×6) at SR 211. The finishing blow to CSK’s bowlers, accelerating GT to 229 with an unbeaten masterclass.
- Mohammed Siraj (GT) – 81.53 – 3/26 from 3 overs. Official Man of the Match and the spearhead of GT’s bowling demolition.
- Anshul Kamboj (CSK) – 76.83 – 19 off 8 with the bat plus 1/56 with the ball. His lower-order hitting lifted the rating, but 1/56 from 4 overs tells its own story.
- Sai Sudharsan (GT) – 75.37 – 84 off 53 (7×4, 4×6) at SR 158. The innings anchor who top-scored and set up the platform with Gill.
Turning Point
The dismissal of Sanju Samson – caught off Mohammed Siraj on the very first ball of the chase (over 0.1, score 0/1) – was the moment this match tilted beyond recovery. Chasing 230, CSK needed their opener to provide a platform. Instead, Samson’s first-ball duck set the tone for the entire innings. When Urvil Patel followed for a duck two overs later at 29/3, the game was effectively over as a contest.
Match Context
This was the 66th match of 74 in the IPL 2026 Regular Season, with just 8 league matches remaining. Gujarat Titans sit 2nd in the standings – W9 L5, 18 points from 14 games, NRR +0.695 – level on points with leaders Royal Challengers Bengaluru but behind on net run rate. They have completed their 14 league games, so this 89-run win was a statement result to boost their NRR heading into the playoffs.
Chennai Super Kings drop to 7th – W6 L8, 12 points from 14 games, NRR -0.345 – also having completed their league fixtures. With the top four cut-off likely to be 14-16 points, CSK’s campaign is over. Three consecutive defeats (SRH, LSG, and now GT) to end the league stage is a dismal finish to a season that promised more.
GT now lead the head-to-head 6-4 against CSK, having won three of the last four meetings including both IPL 2026 fixtures.
