Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings: IPL 2026 Match Preview

Ahmedabad. In the 66th match of IPL 2026, Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings will compete today. This match will start at 7:45 PM at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

For Chennai, this match is a 'do or die' situation. The team has won 6 out of 13 matches and is in sixth place in the points table with 12 points. To stay in the playoff race, Chennai must win this match at any cost.

On the other hand, Gujarat, captained by Shubman Gill, has already reached the playoffs. This team has won 8 out of 13 matches, has 16 points, and is in second place in the points table.

Gujarat ahead in Head-to-Head

A tough competition has been seen between these two teams in the IPL so far. A total of 9 matches have been played between Gujarat and Chennai. In which Gujarat has won 5 and Chennai has won 4 matches. 

The first encounter between these two this season was on April 26 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, in which Gujarat defeated Chennai by 8 wickets.

Sai Sudarshan Gujarat's Top Scorer

Sai Sudarshan has scored the most runs for Gujarat this season. He has scored 554 runs in 13 matches played so far, with 1 century and 6 half-centuries. His strike rate in this process has been 157.83.

On the bowling front, Kagiso Rabada has taken the most wickets. He has taken 21 wickets in 13 matches with an economy of 9.22. Taking 3 wickets for 25 runs is his best performance.

Sanju Samson in Form

Sanju Samson is the highest run-scorer for Chennai. Samson has scored 477 runs in 13 matches this season at a strike rate of 166.20. He has hit 2 centuries and 1 half-century.

In bowling, Anshul Kamboj has taken the most wickets for the team. He has taken 20 wickets in 13 matches. Taking 3 wickets for 22 runs is his best performance, although he has conceded runs at an expensive economy of 10.23.

Will be watched 

• Rashid Khan 

In his previous match against Kolkata, Rashid Khan gave away 57 runs in 4 overs without taking a wicket, which was his most expensive spell in the IPL. Earlier, in the match played at Chepauk, Chennai had scored 21 runs in the only over he bowled.

However, if these two performances are considered exceptions, Rashid has been bowling excellently this season. He has taken 16 wickets in 13 matches and has played an important role in the middle overs for Gujarat. He wants to end the league stage with an excellent performance.

• Ruturaj Gaikwad 

Ruturaj Gaikwad is Chennai's second-highest run-scorer this season, but his strike rate of 121 in the powerplay (the lowest among batsmen scoring more than 200 runs) has increased the pressure on him.

Coach Stephen Fleming has been consistently supporting Gaikwad, although he has not been able to reach the level of his excellent 2024 season, where he was second in the Orange Cap race. The unsatisfactory results of Chennai and the excellent performance of Sanju Samson in his debut season for the franchise have increased the pressure on Gaikwad to improve his batting.

Team News: Dhoni Returns to Ranchi

Batting coach Mike Hussey confirmed that MS Dhoni has returned to his home in Ranchi due to a thumb injury. He will only return to the team if the team reaches the playoffs. On the other hand, Gujarat has a fully fit team available for selection.

Probable Playing 12:

• Gujarat Titans: 1. Shubman Gill (Captain), 2. B Sai Sudharsan, 3. Jos Buttler (Wicketkeeper), 4. Washington Sundar, 5. Nishant Sindhu, 6. Jason Holder, 7. Rahul Tewatia, 8. Rashid Khan, 9. Kagiso Rabada, 10. Mohammed Siraj, 11. Prasidh Krishna, 12. Arshad Khan.
• Chennai Super Kings: 1. Ruturaj Gaikwad (Captain), 2. Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper), 3. Urvil Patel, 4. Kartik Sharma, 5. Dewald Brevis, 6. Shivam Dube, 7. Prashant Veer, 8. Akil Hossain, 9. Anshul Kamboj, 10. Noor Ahmad, 11. Spencer Johnson, 12. Mukesh Choudhary.

Pitch to help batsmen, weather clear

The pitch made of red and black soil at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium usually hosts high-scoring games. However, the boundaries here are large, which bowlers can use to trap batsmen.

So far, 51 IPL matches have been played here. In which the team batting first has won 25 matches and the team chasing has also won 25 matches, and one match has been a tie.

The team that wins the toss may choose to bowl first. There is no possibility of rain during the match in Ahmedabad. The temperature will be warm and the sky will be clear.

Statistics and Interesting Information

• Gujarat's fast bowlers have taken 73 wickets this season, which is the most wickets taken by any pace unit. Their economy of 9.1 is also the best among pace units.
• Sai Sudarshan is just one half-century away from joining the elite club of Jos Buttler, Virender Sehwag, and David Warner by scoring his fifth consecutive half-century.
• This season, Chennai is second lowest in average opening partnership (25.8). Their opening strike rate of 151 is also the lowest among all teams.
• Sanju Samson is just 23 runs away from crossing the 500-run mark for the second time in his IPL career. He achieved this feat in 2024. Chennai has won all four matches where Samson batted after the powerplay.