NEW DELHI: When defending champions Chennai Super Kings face Gujarat Titans in an Indian Premier League match on Tuesday, it will be a battle of the wits between two new captains, Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Both openers, famed for their smooth and beautiful shot-making, will face off in a fight of tactical superiority as CSK and GT aim to build on their recent victories.
While Gaikwad took over as captain after the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepped down on the eve of CSK’s opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gill had a little more time to prepare for his new role after Hardik Pandya left the Titans in November of last year.Gill, 24, is the IPL’s youngest captain, but he demonstrated his leadership abilities against MI. Gill’s position is made slightly simpler by the presence of head coach Ashish Nehra, who possesses a tactically brilliant mind, the seasoned David Miller, and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.
Gaikwad, on the other hand, shined on his captaincy debut under the mentorship of the legendary Dhoni as CSK cruised to a six-wicket victory over RCB.
However, the bowling unit, particularly pacer Tushar Deshpande, would be looking to enhance its performance. Following Mustafizur Rahman’s four-wicket haul, the CSK bowlers allowed Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik to put together a 95-run stand, allowing RCB to post a respectable score.
Deshpande was guilty of leaking runs, and he will be wary of another subpar performance with veteran Shardul Thakur, who is also a capable batsman, and the uncapped Mukesh Choudhary vying for a spot in the playing XI.
Sri Lankan bowler Matheesha Pathirana has also been confirmed fit to play after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Rachin Ravindra, who has recently bowled well in the nets, may also be employed as a spin alternative.
CSK are unlikely to change their batting line-up.
Ravindra, who impressed with a 15-ball 37 on his IPL debut against RCB, will try to maintain his form.
Young Sameer Rizvi, who made his debut in the last game, was not given the opportunity to bat and will be anxious to demonstrate his abilities. Dhoni did not bat against Bengaluru, and his legion of admirers will be hoping to witness some fireworks from him.
The Titans, on the other hand, will be hoping for a stronger effort with the bat after a dismal performance at home versus Mumbai Indians.
The GT batters failed to convert their starts, and the former champions would rely on Gill and veteran wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha to get them off to a flying start.
The middle-order batters, including Azmatullah Omarzai, David Miller, and Rahul Tewatia, will also need to pull up their socks.
Meanwhile, GT’s Chennai-born cricketer Sai Sudarshan, who has been in fantastic form with the bat recently, may garner some attention from the fans.
In the absence of renowned pacer Mohammad Shami, the Titans bowlers combined to secure a six-run victory over Mumbai.
Spinners Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore will be crucial for them on the sluggish Chepauk track.

Squads:
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangarkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Chaudhary, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, and Aravelly Avanish Rao (wk).
Gujarat Titans: Shubhman Gill (c), David Miller, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudarshan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmed, Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma, Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar, Spencer Johnson, Sandeep Warrier, BR Sharath.
Match starts: 7.30 pm IST.