The Indian Premier League continues with the one match on Tuesday as the Chennai Super Kings continue the defence of their title when they play their second IPL 2024 game against the team they took the title from in Gujarat Titans.
These two teams have been the best two in the competition over the last couple of seasons and they have already got off to a winning start in this campaign. The winner here will be nicely positioned as the table begins to work itself out.
Chennai Super Kings
The Chennai Super Kings went into the season with the target on their back as the defending champions but also with a few question marks around them, not least because they changed captain pretty much on the eve of the competition getting underway again. You did wonder how that switch would go but it was evidently clear in the opening game that Ruturaj Gaikwad is open to using the likes of MS Dhoni and the other experienced players in the side as guidance so in the end the transition looked pretty smooth.
The important thing was that Gaikwad looked positive with the bat. The big thing the Super Kings would have wanted is for Gaikwad to contribute with the bat as if he didn’t have the captaincy even though he does so that box was ticked. The one area of concern was with the new ball. They leaked a few runs, which was fine in the end because a couple of experienced bowlers turned things around but away from Chennai that could become an issue.
Gujarat Titans
The Gujarat Titans also had some questions to answer going into the season and they too had a change of captain, although theirs was forced because Hardik Pandya left to return to the Mumbai Indians. Shubman Gill has taken over but there was no obvious drop off in the intensity or the tactical nous that a captain needs to provide the side so that was as much of a positive as the result, especially as he pulled the game back when it looked to be getting away from them.
The Titans were probably behind at the halfway point and if there is a concern it is just that they look a little light with the bat in the top five. I always think the better teams in this tournament have an overseas batter in their top four and while Azmatullah Omarzai batted at four in the win over the Mumbai Indians, he is pretty new to the franchise scene at this level and if Gujarat are going to win the competition I think they’ll need a stronger option there.
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Key Players
Rachin Ravindra looked very good on his debut for the Chennai Super Kings, offering up the aggressive batting that he showed in the 50 over World Cup as well as some quality in the field. He will be looking to build on that here.
I wonder if there is a world in which Rahul Tewatia could move up the order a little. He is getting much better as a finisher but I wonder if he could do the role from a couple of overs further out and lead Gujarat to better totals in light of the fact they are without Mohammad Shami with the ball for the tournament.
Betting
We have seen this tournament get off to a pretty high scoring start but I wonder if that trend is about to end here. I think we saw both bowling attacks show their class in the end in their opening matches and I expect those units to come on for the run here and really deliver the goods. They might be helped in that quest by both teams looking a batter light even allowing for the Impact Player rule and when you throw in the often tacky nature of the pitches in Chepauk it is easy to come to the thinking that this could be a lower scoring game.
The run line for this one is 332.5. I wouldn’t normally take an under in this tournament with that Impact Player effectively meaning that each side play with an extra batter but I do believe in these two bowling units to get the job done. This line is sufficiently high enough that even if the first innings goes beyond 166 the other team can defend it and stay under the total. Gujarat look a batter light to me even with the Impact Player while one or two Chennai players have a bit to prove. I’ll play the under here.
Tips
Back Under 332.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
