IPL 2024: Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings Best Bets

It’s a last-chance saloon for Shubman Gill’s Gujarat Titans as they take on Chennai Super Kings in an IPL clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday. A loss here will end GT’s tournament, while CSK will be looking to boost their hopes of a playoff spot. Take a look at the best bets for this encounter.

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium

Betting Preview

A solid home record is crucial for any successful sports team, but Gujarat Titans have struggled significantly in this regard at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Their luck has been particularly poor, losing the coin toss 14 out of 15 times, and they’ve faced three consecutive defeats at home, each after being forced to bat first. This string of losses includes heavy defeats to Bengaluru and Delhi, and a close loss to Punjab, none of whom are in the top four.

Gujarat’s woes are compounded by their sluggish start in the powerplay, with key players including out-of-form wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who is averaging just 15.11 this season. The team is the slowest scoring in the IPL, and their top batsmen are all scoring below the league powerplay average. With the Titans facing the league’s best in terms of bowling economy, a strategic shake-up might be necessary, potentially replacing Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad or finding a way to incorporate backup keeper Matthew Wade.

Conversely, Chennai Super Kings have managed to regroup effectively despite several changes, particularly among their bowlers. Mitchell Santner and Simarjeet Singh stepped up well in their previous match, while Tushar Deshpande has become a key powerplay wicket-taker after returning from illness. Despite a mixed 2/3 away record, Chennai’s recent successes and last year’s championship win at this venue give them an edge over the struggling Titans, positioning them with more confidence and command as the playoffs approach.

CSK are the favourites going into this game and rightfully so. They come up against a struggling Gujarat Titans side and should prove to be too much for them. 

Prediction: Chennai Super Kings to win at 1.66.

Players to watch: Gujarat’s Afghan all-rounder Rashid Khan has struggled in his history against some key Chennai batters, averaging 58 with the ball against Ajinkya Rahane, 54 against Chennai captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, 28 versus Shivam Dube and 24 against MS Dhoni. In addition to that, his aggregate figures at home this season are an unenviable 3-159 from 18 overs.

Ravindra Jadeja may also struggle to make an impact here, collecting exactly one wicket in each of his three IPL appearances in Ahmedabad for Chennai. He has also been held wicketless in seven of his 11 matches this season.

Key Stats

Five of the last six IPL games in Ahmedabad were won by the chasing team.

Gujarat struck the most sixes in a match only once this year (at home to Mumbai), thanks mostly to a league-low average of 4.91 sixes per inning.

The average first innings score in Ahmedabad since the start of 2023 is 184, climbing to 193 for teams that won batting first.

Gujarat were also outscored during the powerplay overs in each of their last six full 20-over games at home.

Mohit Sharma remains the leading IPL wicket-taker in Ahmedabad despite going for 0-41 against RCB in his most recent home appearance. 

He now has 26 from 13 innings at an average of just 13.46.

Ruturaj Gaikwad (x5) and Ravindra Jadeja (x2) are the only two players to have top-scored for Chennai in their last seven innings.

Sai Sudharsan has never been dismissed by any of the six bowlers Chennai used in their last match, scoring 79 runs from 46 deliveries.

Shardul Thakur is yet to take more than one wicket in an IPL 2024 innings, averaging more than 60 with the ball this year.

Best Bets

Best Bet: Chennai Super Kings to hit the most sixes at 1.55.

Value Bet: Ruturaj Gaikwad to score 50+ runs at 3.15.

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