Gujarat Titans don win toss and choose to bowl first for Chepauk, meaning Chennai Super Kings go bat first while GT dey chase target. Urvil Patel don enter CSK XI replace Sarfaraz Khan, while Anshul Kamboj dey feature alongside spin duo Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad. GT don bring Arshad Khan for tactical balance, while Shahrukh Khan dey starting XI instead of Rahul Tewatia, signalling Gujarat intention to strengthen middle order against CSK spin attack. Match 37 dey happun for April 26, 2026, at 3:30 PM IST for MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
CSK dey bat first and likely go deploy bowling reinforcement during GT chase to support dia spin-heavy attack on Chepauk grippy surface. Sarfaraz Khan offer middle-order solidity and get experience handling spin for Indian surfaces. Mukesh Choudhary bring left-arm pace and angle variation against GT right-handed openers Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill. Prashant Veer provide right-arm pace and fit deploy for second innings powerplay. Ramakrishna Ghosh don be earmarked as like-for-like replacement following Khaleel Ahmed quadricep injury, providing pace-bowling all-round depth. Matthew Short offer explosive batting and handy off-spin if CSK need additional middle-order firepower.
GT dey bowl first and go introduce batting reinforcement during dia chase to bolster middle order against CSK defence. Rahul Tewatia go slot in for middle-order finishing experience and part-time leg-spin variety. Anuj Rawat provide left-handed batting depth and keeper-batter flexibility for lower order during chase. Glenn Phillips offer Kiwi power-hitting and useful off-spin overs against CSK left-handers like Shivam Dube and Akeal Hosein. Kulwant Khejroliya bring left-arm pace variation if GT need bowling reinforcement late for chase. Nishant Sindhu add left-arm orthodox spin variety for Chepauk grippy surface.
Excitement, emotions and returns of local lads dey for menu as Chennai Super Kings, on back of resounding win against Mumbai Indians, face wounded Gujarat Titans side under baking hot sun on Sunday. Hot sun no don deter fans from coming to match here. With three hours before first ball, fans dey patiently wait outside gates. Accompanying dem na strolling roadside vendors, wey dey try keep up with marching fans with new stock of merchandise. To counter heat, these vendors bring paper fans with faces of CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, Samson and former captain MS Dhoni printed on dem.
With Samson scoring resounding century for Chennai Super Kings statement win against Mumbai Indians for Wankhede Stadium, excitement dey palpable for air. Jerseys with ‘Samson 11’ dey slowly take up spaces among vendors and on backs of fans. For instance, for family of seven people donning CSK jerseys, two get Samson name and number on back, while others get ‘Dhoni 7’ on back. Another big performance from Samson, and that number of jerseys fit increase. While Samson performance fit bring numbers into stands, one man form wey dem like see turn around na skipper Gaikwad. Groomed by CSK for last seven years, Gaikwad don previously show just how good e fit be for previous campaigns. This season, e dey be shadow of im former self, scoring only 104 runs for seven matches so far.
For CSK pacer Mukesh Choudhury, e go be emotional return to Chepauk, days after im mother don pass away. E don show im guile for CSK 103-run win over MI. Expect fans to back am. For visiting Titans side, return of Chennai boys B Sai Sudharshan, Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan and R Sai Kishore fit bring few cheers here and there, but for day, yellow na colour wey dem choose. State allegiances later.
Three from seven sound like tie. Look at form line and e be anything but. Chennai Super Kings go host Gujarat Titans for MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday afternoon with kind of momentum wey struggling start no normal allow. Three wins from dia last four, most recent of which na 103-run thrashing of Mumbai Indians for Wankhede wey give dem biggest win for IPL history by margin of runs. Sanju Samson don go from three single-digit scores to start season to two centuries and 48 for four games since. Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad don start bowl like pair of wrist spinners for Chennai night. Gujarat don do opposite. The 5-wicket loss for Bengaluru on Friday leave dem with two wins from dia last five, and Shubman Gill don dey do most of batting on im own. E dey leading run-scorer for side with 297 runs from six matches and three fifties.
Numbers on Samson IPL 2026 dey hard to argue with. Mumbai wey turn Wankhede silent inside hour. CSK don pay heavy price to get am out of Rajasthan and early returns be exactly kind wey dey get fanbase nervous. Three single-digit scores, no obvious chemistry with new dressing room, kind of slow start wey dey haunt player. Last four innings don flip that. E dey open with Ruturak Gaikwad now, taking new ball for imself, and pulling kind of length other batters duck under. Gujarat go don look at Mumbai tape this week. Noor Ahmad IPL 2026 don be quiet only by im own standards. E get ball to grip for Chepauk afternoon for way Rashid Khan no fit do again. With Akeal Hosein for other end taking four for 17 for im last outing, CSK get spin pair wey suppose worry any team wey dey come Chennai.
Gill know wetin dey come. E don play Rashid for nets for years and e handle Akeal left-arm orthodox well on im way to dat 32 for Bengaluru. Rest of GT order need to do something to take heat off am. Chepauk pitch no longer be slow turner of folklore. Two of three IPL games here this season don produce 200-plus first-innings totals. Toss fit still matter for dew factor late for second innings but days of CSK winning games on tired surface alone don largely dey gone. Sunday go give us contest. CSK get form, home record, and now Samson wey look like e don settle. Gujarat get Gill and very little else firing for tandem. If CSK keep winning way wey dem don do for last three weeks, playoff race below top three go look very different by end of month.
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