Brief scores: Gujarat Titans (229 for four in 20 overs) beat Chennai Super Kings (140 all-out in 13.4 overs) by 89 runs in Ahmedabad.
IPL 2026, GT VS CSK: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
Chennai Super Kings’ IPL 2026 campaign ended up in smoke as Gujarat Titans condemned them to an 89-run loss in Ahmedabad on Thursday, May 21. With the loss, CSK finished the season with just 12 points from 14 matches and officially got eliminated from the tournament. This was the third consecutive year that Chennai finished out of the top four and without playing in the play-offs.
For Gujarat, the win means that they strengthened their chances of playing qualifier 1 after they dominated Chennai in all three departments. The win was setup by Sai Sudharsan’s 84, Shubman Gill’s 64 and Jos Buttler’s explosive 57, which helped them post 229 runs in the first innings.
In response, Chennai were bundled out for 140 runs in 13.4 overs, with Shivam Dube being the only batter who got going on the track.
When the team sheets were out on Thursday, it felt like CSK decided to make a lot of changes with their season on the line. In times like these, you usually sit down and go with your tried and tested formula. But they decided to bench Prashant Veer and Akeal Hosein and brought back Matt Short and Gurjapneet Singh.
Ruturaj said that the decision was made on match combinations and one expected Short to be used as a bowling option. However, the Aussie all-rounder never got a chance to come in and bowl.
Gill and Sudharsan have good memories while facing CSK in Ahmedabad, as the duo scored hundreds in a 210-run stand back in 2024. And the way they started out, it seemed like Chennai was in for a deja vu moment.
Steaming in and HOW
Mohd. Siraj on a roll in Ahmedabad
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The duo made a flying start, which ended up hurting CSK in more ways than one. They lost Sanju Samson early on to a finger injury and he was off the field. It seemed the guidance from behind the stumps seemed to be missing as the Chennai bowlers struggled to find any inspiration on a track that looked like a belter.
The result was Gill and Sudharsan piling on 62 runs in the powerplay. With the absence of a spin partner, Noor Ahmad struggled back at his former stomping ground, as he was welcomed with a six by Gill.
The one thing that the GT skipper has done this season is to be more aggressive in his approach and he was putting the Chennai bowlers to the sword.
He reached his fifty with a six off Noor and in 23 balls. Sudharsan wasn’t to be left behind in terms of the big-hitting and he took on Anhsul Kamboj, who seemed like he was still left in the shock he got in Lucknow.
Sudharsan got to his fifty in 35 balls, putting him in an elite list of batters to score five consecutive fifties in the IPL. There seemed to be no hurry from the GT batters. It looked calm, calculated and without any chaos.
But Gill’s innings ended in the 13th over and that gave Sudharsan and Buttler the license to go for the kill.
The duo ensured that Noor conceded 22 runs in the third over and the Afghan spinner wasn’t called back to bowl another one. But that left the rest of the CSK pacers to the onslaught.
They conceded 78 runs in the last six overs. Kamboj’s time in the IPL went from bad to worse as he got the unwanted record of conceding the most sixes in a single edition of the IPL with 34 maximums next to his name.
Once Buttler also got to his fifty and powered the total to 230, it seemed CSK missed a trick by not having another bowling option in the mix. While Ruturaj said that it felt like they played a batter or bowler less,
In a chase of high proportions, you need your top batters right up front and firing on all cylinders. For Chennai, they were happy to see Sanju Samson back on the field and ready to bat. But that happiness lasted just one ball as Mohammed Siraj dismissed him for a first-ball duck.
Steaming in and HOW
Mohd. Siraj on a roll in Ahmedabad
Updates https://t.co/p5TP9NLREX #TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #GTvCSK | @mdsirajofficial pic.twitter.com/MUr9XB6sYv— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 21, 2026
Ruturaj demoted himself to No.3 with Short opening with Samson, and got off to a good start with a boundary and a six. Short followed suit, with a couple of big hits off Rabada and suddenly it felt like the visitors would make the most out of the powerplay.
But when it comes to the GT bowlers in the first six overs, it seems like they’re always inevitable.
“I try to build pressure from my end in the powerplay and stay consistent with my areas. If I build pressure, Rabada will take wickets from the other end,” said Siraj at the post-match presentation.
Siraj came back and dismissed Ruturaj and Urvil Patel in the same over to leave Chennai reeling. There was some resistance from Short and Kartik Sharma, but the Aussie all-rounder fell to Rabada just as the powerplay was coming to an end.
Gill was a bit critical of the GT fielding after the KKR loss, but he decided to set the standard with a run-out of Kartik.
Dube was fighting a lone battle, but unlike the other CSK batters, he kept attacking the bowlers. It was something that Dewald Brevis needed to follow suit. But it seemed sedate the approach, an issue with the CSK middle-order throughout the season. Maybe they missed some MSD magic.
Either way, the alarm bells were ringing when Dube kept on taking down bowlers before Gill turned to Rashid Khan.
After being hit for a six, Rashid got his revenge and once again, Gill, who set the fielding standards with a stunning catch. Rashid then dismissed Kamboj and Brevis quickly, as the coffin was closed on Chennai’s season. Rabada then put the finishing touches and sealed the win.
WE ARE OUT OF WORDS!
Shubman Gill with Catch of the Season contender
Updates https://t.co/p5TP9NLREX #TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #GTvCSK | @ShubmanGill pic.twitter.com/iuwx06Ln6B— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 21, 2026
For CSK, losing Jamie Overton was huge, but they had talent within the squad to compensate for it. In a game like this, the call to bring Matthew Short as a specialist batter while not having another bowling option seemed to be a major error.
While the fear would have been seeing Hosein go for a lot of runs, Rashid bowled on the same track and he was able to get purchase and be amongst the wickets. While we cannot really use a crystal ball to predict, it seemed like CSK’s season has been about changes and not settling down.
It was another season, where the talk was dominated by Dhoni and not by the performances on the field.
It remains to be seen how things will be next season. Another IPL exit without making the play-offs? Definitely not! That will be the answer of the Chennai fans.
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Source: India Today
