IPL 2023 Playoffs: Seasoned CSK face upstarts Titans

One of the most consistent teams in the history of the Indian Premier League will run into a team with the ingredients to become something similar in time to come.

Exciting as that plot line might be when Chennai Super Kings face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 at the MA Chidambaram stadium, Tuesday night is hardly more than a chance for CSK faithful to offer peans to MS Dhoni.

Sure, CSK winning and progressing to the final for the tenth time in the 14 editions (they were suspended in 2016 and 2017), would be well and good, but this game is nothing but the latest stop in Dhoni’s maybe-farewell tour.

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At almost 42, Dhoni is most likely done for what with over two decades of competitive cricket on now-dodgy legs. And the crowds, aware of his potential retirement (though there have contradictory claims by CSK official Kasi Viswanathan and Dhoni himself), turn up in all yellow all the time anytime the CSK skipper takes the field, anywhere.

To add to this anxiety-inducing exercise, Dhoni dangles the carrot just enough to keep people on edge. So typical.

Either way, 40,000-odd folks will brave the unbearable humidity of Chennai for ‘thala’ and his band come to town in the hope of avenging the embarrassment from all those moons ago.

The last time Hardik Pandya and his bunch played CSK at home, the defending champions hammered the four-time champs by five wickets to get the season going.

Even as early as then, it was evident that the Titans had maintained all the components needed to succeed again. But CSK have evolved since.

With Dhoni getting a better read on his players and the skillsets they offer, CSK have transformed into a solid unit with the likes of Devon Conway and Tushar Deshpande turning out to be match-winners. Lest we forget the contributions of Shivam Dube, a reinvigorated Ajinkya Rahane, and a 20-year-old Lasith Malinga, aka Matheesha Pathirana.

And just like that, CSK finished second on the table behind the Titans with 17 points from 14 games.

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The benefit of finishing in the top two is that you get another chance (Qualifier 2) to make it to the summit tie should it come down to it. And given that CSK are coming into this contest as underdogs, it’s a nice buffer to have.

It’s not a tag CSK are used to, but against the Titans, no team can honestly make an alternate claim.

Marshalled by Pandya’s perpetual smirk, the Titans topped the table with 20 points. Better yet, they have looked in control of almost every contest courtesy Shubman Gill’s ridiculous consistency, Mohammed Shami’s Test-match-caliber pace and Rashid Khan’s unpickable spin.

If that isn’t enough, they are a picture of opulence as far as role players are concerned.

It all seems a bit too perfect for the Titans at this stage, but they will know not to lean on momentum or other factors, even if favourable, against a side with hallowed pedigree at a venue so revered.

Oh, and there’s the not-so-little factor called Dhoni.