MS Dhoni's four-time winners will be taking on Hardik Pandya's defending champions for the coveted title in the marquee final scheduled in Ahmedabad on May 28.
As four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lock horns with Gujarat Titans (GT) in the marquee IPL 2023 final on Sunday (May 28), we take a look at the CSK vs GT match prediction. It will be a rematch of the memorable opening game between the two famed rivals also played in Ahmedabad. The CSK vs GT match prediction will allow us to preempt the winner of the tournament finale: would it be CSK holding the coveted crown for the fifth time or the Titans will retain the trophy they carry as defending champions?
CSK have stood resurrected this summer after enduring the worst of lows last season where they finished bottom of the pile with just four wins to their names. The franchise needed to regain their strong footing and once again punch as a collective unit. MS Dhoni’s troops have done that astutely, finishing second in the league table with eight wins before storming into the final with a victory against the Titans.
The key reason for this revival has been multiple strong individual performers in the two primary skill relishing the captaincy and leadership excellence of MS Dhoni. In the bowling department, CSK have had four bowlers with ten or more games – Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Matheesha Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana – to concede less than 8 runs an over in a high-scoring competition.
On the batting front, the opening duo of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway has been laying the perfect foundation throughout the campaign while Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube have been making valiant contributions all the way.
Get 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗬 to experience the visual extravaganza! 👏 👏
DO NOT MISS the IPL MID SHOW in the #TATAIPL 2023 Grand Finale! 🎥 😎#GTvCSK pic.twitter.com/W5OGC9itQg
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 28, 2023
The Titans have continued from where they left with their inspirational maiden run to the prestigious IPL title last season. They’ve replicated their campaign from IPL 2022 by reigning supreme in the league stage, with the only difference being they couldn’t immediately make the final and required to play Qualifier 2 after losing Qualifier 1 to CSK.
But a win against five-time winners Mumbai Indians (MI) would’ve boosted their confidence once again and regained their momentum before the marquee rematch with their toughest opposition.
The Titans have had a stand-out batting performer in Shubman Gill, the ‘Orange Cap’ holder’, and the rest of the pack rallying in his ascent to help them navigate through a stiff league phase and ultimately reach the final. The bowling side has had more of an equal contribution, though, with the likes of Mohit Sharma, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Shami and Noor Ahmad proving to be heroes and match-winners.
The end result could well boil down to the selection of their playing XIs and the choice of the ‘Impact Player’, which sides have used to their benefit in lengthening the available resources and counter multiple situations with their 12th member. Since the two sides believe would believe in continuity to get the IPL prediction in their favour, the probable XIs and their ‘Impact Player’ choice for the marquee final could be as follows:-
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana. Impact Player: Matheesha Pathirana
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Hardik Pandya (c), Dasun Shanaka, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Darshan Nalkande, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami. Impact Player: Vijay Shankar
The pitch for the final in Ahmedabad is expected to be a fresh one with lots of runs in it for the batters from either side. The ground is known for its small boundary dimensions and a pitch that is true for pace and bounce, which batters would relish for their powerhitting game. It played true to its historic nature in the high-scoring Qualifier 2 between GT and MI.
The weather forecast is perfect for the game with no rains predicted, although the temperatures would be quite high even in the evening at the peak of the Indian summer season.
The Staircase to Super Sunday Finale 🔥#CSKvGT #WhistlePodu #Yellove 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/AGYywebLkB
— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 28, 2023
The CSK vs GT match prediction could be based on how many bowling match-winners the two sides have. In perfect batting conditions, most T20 fixtures are determined by the quality and depth of the bowling resources. And this is where the Titans have a slight edge on their CSK counterparts. In the Mohit-Rashid-Shami trio backed by the young and promising Noor, they have an attack that edges above Chennai’s more brittle and unstable bowling unit in our IPL 2023 final prediction.
Even though the Titans have cracks to paper over on the batting front, the conditions shall help them avoid bumps and to put the CSK bowlers under great pressure, especially if their top-order numero uno Shubman Gill continues his amazing form and offers the rest the much-needed breathing space.
In a valid IPL prediction, Titans could do with batting first and posting a huge score on the board – it’s a scenario that enabled their ascent to the final in the Qualifier fixture against MI. Even Mumbai’s mighty powerful batting line-up couldn’t match the belligerence on display from the Titans in the first half of the game when the track played at its truest.
CSK will require their key men to stand up to the task if they are to give the Titans a run for their money in conditions that their opposition is more familiar with. They will particularly require Gaikwad and Conway to lay the right foundation for them at the top and for the Sri Lankan duo of Pathirana and Theekshana to withstand the assault with the ball to nullify our IPL 2023 final prediction.
CSK vs GT prediction: Gujarat Titans to win the IPL 2023 final.
