Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will look to move a step closer to the playoffs by beating bottom-placed Gujarat Titans in their next IPL 2024 match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. Former winners, GT have lost three consecutive games as their chances for the playoffs look bleak. A win for Chennai will take them into the top 3 with 14 points and strengthen their playoff chances.

The Titans fumbled in their last encounter against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru after getting bundled out for a meagre 147. RCB went on to chase the total in 13.4 overs. On the other hand, the Super Kings ticked all the right boxes while defending a low score of 167 against the Punjab Kings as they won by 28 runs.

GT likely Dream 11 (if batting first)

Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill (c) Sai Sudharshan, Shahrukh Khan, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, Manav Suthar, Noor Ahmed, Joshua Little

GT likely Dream 11 (if bowling first)

Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill (c), Shahrukh Khan, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, Manav Suthar, Noor Ahmed, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma

Impact Players: Vijay Shankar, Mohit Sharma, Sai Sudharshan, Sandeep Warrier

CSK likely XI (if batting first)

Ajinkya Rahane, Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni (wk), Daryll Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Simarjeet Singh, Richard Gleeson

CSK likely XI (if bowling first)

Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni (wk), Daryll Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Simarjeet Singh, Richard Gleeson, Tushar Deshpande

Impact Players: Simarjeet Singh, Sameer Rizvi, Ajinkya Rahane, Tushar Deshpande

Players statistics CSK

1 Ruturaj Gaikwad

CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad is currently his team's highest scorer with 541 runs from 11 innings. The right-hander has so far scored four half-centuries and a century this season at a strike rate of 147.01.

2 Shivam Dube

All-rounder Shivam Dube is the second-highest run scorer for CSK with 350 runs from 11 games. Dube has smashed four fifties this season at a strike rate of 170.73.

Players who can make a difference

1 Mahendra Singh Dhoni

CSK’s former skipper MS Dhoni has been one of the crucial batters for the team with the highest strike rate in the backend of the innings. The wicketkeeper-batsman might have only managed 110 runs in 11 matches but has scored those at a mind-boggling strike rate of 224.49.

2 Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja has been one of the most economical bowlers for the team in the spin unit. The CSK all-rounder has picked up eight wickets in 11 games at an excellent economy of 7.26.

Player statistics (GT)

1 Sai Sudharshan

Titans’ opener Sai Sudharshan has emerged as the highest scorer for his team with 424 runs from 11 matches at a strike rate of 131.68. The left-hander has hit two fifties, with his highest score being 84.

2 Shubman Gill

GT skipper Shubman Gill has led from the front this season with 322 runs from 11 matches. Gill’s highest score this season has been an unbeaten 89 runs against the Punjab Kings and has scored two fifties this season

Players who can make a difference

1 Mohit Sharma

Veteran bowler Mohit Sharma has been the highest wicket-taker for Gujarat with 10 scalps from 11 matches. The right-hander is one of the most ideal players at the death with his unplayable slower balls and immaculate length.

2 Rashid Khan

GT all-rounder Rashid Khan may not have been at his best season but has lived up to the expectations in not leaking runs at an economy of 8.29. Rashid has so far picked 11 wickets from 11 matches and has the ability to change the course of the match.

Head-to-head

Both teams have played against each other on six occasions and are currently tied at 3-3 in the head-to-head. However, the Chennai Super Kings have had the last laugh, winning the previous encounter against GT this season.

Venue Details and Toss Prediction

Teams in the IPL have largely preferred to chase at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Out of the 32 matches played here at this venue, 18 matches have been won by the chasing team. In this season, three of the last four matches have been won by the team batting second. The average first innings score at this venue has been 165 runs. Therefore, the team winning the toss is likely to bowl first and restrict the team to a chasable total.

Match prediction

The Titans are currently on a three-match losing streak whereas the Super Kings have won their last encounter against PBKS. GT also lost their last encounter played at the Narendra Modi Stadium against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. CSK’s win looks much more likely in the current scenario over the home favourites.

As per the Google Win Predictor, CSK have the upper hand at a 57 percent chance of winning the match over GT’s 43 percent.

Dream11 team

CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad is in red-hot form. He can be the captain of the Dream 11 fantasy team, while GT's Shubman Gill can be the vice-captain.

Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), Shubman Gill (Vice-captain), Sai Sudharshan, Ravindra Jadeja, Daryll Mitchell, MS Dhoni, David Miller, Rashid Khan, Richard Gleeson, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Sharma

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