The journey of this season ends from where it starts. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Titans (GT) played the inaugural match at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad and it will end at the same venue.
Will it be title number 5 for CSK or title number 2 for GT? GT became the third team after Chennai and Mumbai to play in the back to back finals.
TEAM ANALYSIS OF PLAYING 11 AND IMPACT PLAYER:
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS (CSK):
PC: Google
Devon Conway:
Most runs he made for the team this season. He scored 625 runs with an average of 52.08. Currently he is in 4th spot in the orange cap list. He is highly consistent with his performance this year and the team is expecting the same in the final also.
Ruturaj Gaikwad:
Gaikwad shows a lot of improvement in this season’s batting. He contributed 564 runs along with 4 fifties to his name. In the last match against Gujarat where he survived after getting out on a no ball, converted his shots and put acceleration in his batting and made 60 runs.
Ajinkya Rahane:
After this year IPL with some blasting innings which nobody thinks of. A huge contribution in the number 3 position. He made 299 runs with a strike rate of 169.89. Seems a little less runs in the last few matches but he might be dangerous if he strikes the ball well.
Shivam Dube: (impact)
Hitting 33 sixes till now, he is top hitter this season in terms of 6’s. In the initial few matches he was seen struggling but later on he shows some fierceful batting in the middle and death overs. He has already hit 2 fifties.
Ambati Rayudu:
Nothing good is going in this season for Rayudu. He only made 139 runs which does not match his stats in IPL. He has a lot of potential and can turn the match in the team’s favor.
Moeen Ali:
Team is missing his huge hits and crucial wicket taking ability in the middle overs. He made only 124 runs and took only 9 wickets. But still the team shows huge reliance since they know what he is worth.
Ravindra Jadeja:
A perfect all-rounder for the team. He shows destruction in the death overs and creates problems for the opposition when he bowls. He took 19 wickets till now and is currently 8th in the list of purple cap. In the last two matches he also showed his destructive batting which was little missing in the previous matches.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c & wk):
He is more popularly known for his presence of mind and his calmness in difficult situations. He is one of the most successful captains in this format. Since he batted lower down the order he gets less chances but when he gets the chance he easily shows the ball outside the ground. His strike rate is 185.71 which is too phenomenal and shows his power at this age.
Tushar Despande:
He played his first IPL season and grabbed 21 wickets till now. He has a lot of talent shown by him. He is the team’s highest wicket taker but still his expensive spells need to be improved.
Matheesha Pathirana: (impact)
A young talent who bowls like Lasith Malinga performs brilliantly in the death overs. He took 17 wickets with an excellent average of 19.24. Currently sitting in 10th spot of purple cap list.
Deepak Chahar:
Got injured earlier and had to miss a few matches. After his return he was not looking in great form and unable to take wickets. But in his last few matches he was seen in great rhythm and clinching wickets with great spells.
Maheesh Theekshana:
In his last two matches he performed brilliantly and might feel a bit relieved of his inconsistency. He grabbed 11 wickets with an economy of 7.91.
GUJARAT TITANS (GT):
PC: Google
Shubman Gill: (impact)
This man shows no limit of run scoring. Scored 3 centuries in the last 4 matches. Highly consistent this season and made 851 runs with an average of 60.79. He is currently wearing the orange cap and is 122 runs behind Virat Kohli’s all time highest runs score in a single season. He hits 4 half centuries and 33 sixes in his account.
Wriddhiman Saha (wk):
His form this season has gone up and again down. He lacks his consistency due to which he only scored 317 runs with a single half century in his credit. He started well but couldn’t take it far.
Hardik Pandya ©:
He took his team into a back to back final and the team is expecting that he will show his great performance again in the final. Pandya shows his bullet fire hitting and plays according to the situation. He contributed 325 runs and 2 fifties till now. He was not seen bowling in the last few matches.
Sai Sudharsan:
Sai played brilliantly in any position. He played some great knocks during the season starting but later got injured and had to be removed from the playing 11. He is now fit and carries his form from where he left. Against MI he made 43 runs in 31 balls and made 2 half centuries till now.
Vijay Shankar:
He basically came to bat lower down the order but he was promoted up in this season and performs better. With a strike rate of 160.11 he made 301 runs along with 3 half centuries. He started hitting from the very first ball.
David Miller:
Well known for his finishing skills. He is the player who has the ability to change the atmosphere of the match. He might be a little disappointed that he was unable to hit any 50+ score this season. 13 sixes this season.
Dasun Shanaka:
Played last three matches but still he couldn’t provide much for the team. He is expected again to be in the playing 11. Team is highly expecting his performance.
Rashid Khan:
Rashid is the team’s highly dependable bowler. Hardik already mentions that whenever the team is struggling he takes a wicket and changes the momentum. In this season he took 27 wickets with an impressive average of 18.81. Currently placed 2nd in the list of purple cap. Not only this he shows his batting skills against MI and CSK (Qualifier 1).
Mohd Shami:
With 28 wickets in his pocket, he is leading the chart in purple cap list. Bowling brilliantly in the death and starting overs. Highly consistent performance by him with an economy of 7.95. GT is expecting that he will again show his class of bowling by taking some early wickets as he did before.
Mohit Sharma: (impact)
A match winning spell against MI where he took 5 wickets by giving away only 10 runs. He grabbed 24 wickets till now and has an economy of 7.89. Placed 3rd in purple cap list and has superb an average of 13.54.
Noor Ahmed:
Following the steps of his teammate from the same country, he shows a brilliant performance in the bowling department. Till now he grabbed 14 wickets and might be dangerous against CSK.
Joshua Little:
Little went to his home team after playing some matches in the IPL due to his national duty. After completing his duty he joins the team again and provides some tight spells.
CLASHES (CSK vs GT):
Matches- 4
| CSK | GT | |
| WON | 1 | 3 |
| HIGHEST SCORE | 178 | 182 |
| LOWEST SCORE | 133 | 157 |
Pitch Report:
Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad will witness the final match of the final between CSK vs GT. Since many runs can be scored easily due to some of its short boundaries, team batting first won more matches than second. A high scoring match is expected.
Predicted best 11 performers for the match:
Wriddhiman Saha, Devon Conway, Shivam Dube, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Deepak Chahar, Mohd Shami, Rashid Khan, Matheesha Pathirana.