Famous cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle believes that the game between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans is a battle between the master against the apprentice and reckons that it will be interesting to see whether Hardik Pandya bowls in powerplay alongside Mohammad Shami in Qualifier 1.
Gujarat Titans have performed exceptionally well in the league stage, as they are the first team to qualify for the playoffs with ten wins from 14 league matches, with all the players putting their hands to perform for the team in the crunch situations.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, renowned commentator Bhogle feels the match will be between the master of the game against the apprentice and raised concern about Hardik Pandya‘s role in the team, as he has not batted and bowled against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their previous encounter.
“It will be the master versus the apprentice. I was a little worried by the Hardik Pandya situation as he didn’t bat or bowl against RCB. But he needs to bowl because when he is bowling with the new ball alongside Mohammed Shami, he is very good when he gets the ball moving. So, I would like to see that,” Harsha Bhogle said.
Bhogle feels that the conditions in Chennai would favour the four-time champions and reckons that it will be interesting to see how the defending champions use the conditions to their advantage as they have off-spinner Jayant Yadav in the team, who can be vital against the Left-handed Chennai Super Kings batting order.
“This will be a track that favours Chennai. It depends on how Gujarat Titans can use that situation. But remember that GT is not bad at playing a 150-160 game. GT can also use Jayant Yadav as an Impact Player. If Hardik could bowl, they can get in Jayant Yadav instead of Yash Dayal if it is that kind of track because they will have that extra pacer. I just hope his back is fine,” Bhogle added.
Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad would enjoy the surface in MA Chidambaram Stadium, which would usually favour the spinners and it will interesting to see whether Gujarat Titans bring in another spinner Jayant Yadav or Sai Kishore for Qualifier 1 in Chennai.
Get The Wickets Early, That Will Be GT’s Chance Against CSK- Harsha Bhogle
Harsha Bhogle believes that Chennai Super Kings opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway can be vital players for the four-time champions and feels that getting early wickets would help the Gujarat Titans get into the game in Chepauk.
“Conway and Gaikwad are so low-key. They played fantastic cricket. But get into them early, get Rahane out early, and get Dube thinking. Get the wickets early, that will be GT’s chance against CSK,” Harsha Bhogle added.
Devon Conway (585) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (504) has been standout performer for their side in this edition of IPL 2023 setting up the right platform for the middle orders to score runs in the death overs and will look to continue their fine form going into the tournament. GT bowlers would look to pick early wickets to bring in the CSK middle order early into the play in the playoffs.