3 things CSK need to do right to beat GT in IPL 2025 match ft. Urvil Patel
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will play their final match of their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, May 25. Although the Yellow Army have been knocked out of the playoffs race, the upcoming clash presents itself as an opportunity to end their season on a high, and spoil GT's hopes for a top two spot.
Not much changed for CSK over the course of the break as they returned to action with a tame loss against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Although the stakes are less for the clash against GT, it is by no means a dead rubber, given MS Dhoni's future being a constant setting and a topic of conversation for the encounter.
On that note, let us take a look at the three things CSK need to do right to beat GT in the IPL 2025 match.
#1 Unleash the opening pairing of Urvil Patel and Ayush Mhatre
Why not sign off the season with yet another opening combination, since it has been quite a journey, which initially began with Rachin Ravindra and Rahul Tripathi. A lot has happened over the last couple of months, and the upcoming match is an opportunity for CSK to potentially go with the combination that might be the first-choice pairing for the next season.
Urvil Patel has batted at No.3 in both of his innings so far, while Devon Conway's slump turns from bad to worse at the top. It is highly unlikely that the New Zealand international will be part of CSK's transition, since they have already committed to a modern approach to keep up with the other teams.
The pairing of Ayush Mhatre and Urvil Patel is one that is rife with promise, but so far it is only hypothetical, since they have not even batted together yet. Mhatre was dismissed on a duck during Urvil Patel's debut against KKR, while it was the other way round in the recent clash against the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Their initial impressions deserve them being paired together and showcase why serious thoughts should be given regarding the opening combination for the next season.
Should Urvil Patel be promoted, CSK have a hole to fill at No.3. Trying out Sam Curran again up the order is not an option since he has not rejoined the team after the tournament's suspension. The team can look to bring back Shaik Rasheed once again, who could be an anchor of sorts at No.3.
#2 Matheesha Pathirana needs to bowl in the powerplay
The Sri Lankan pacer must at least be brought much earlier into the attack rather than the usual 12th over mark. Bowling entirely in the latter half of the innings has not helped his case, affecting his death bowling in a way, too. He has struggled to hit his areas consistently. The extras have gone way up, while the yorkers have been missing.
Pathirana has dismissed Sai Sudharsan twice in two outings so far. Shubman Gill has also lost his wicket once to the slingy pacer in two meetings, while scoring five runs off six deliveries in total.
The GT opening pair have largely looked comfortable against conventional bowling throughout the season, and introducing Pathirana earlier into the attack is certainly an out-of-the-box ploy CSK can use, especially since they have nothing to lose.
Although Pathirana's early introduction compromises CSK's bowling plan for the latter half of the innings, considering the value of the top-order wickets, it is a gamble that is worth taking. If the GT middle order is exposed early, the CSK spin trio can capitalise, especially Noor Ahmad, who is familiar with the venue given his previous stint with GT.
#3 End the Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin promotion experiment
Midway through the season, CSK drastically shook the batting order up to have Ravindra Jadeja high up the order. The experiment has extended to even Ravichandran Ashwin being sent up the order. The veteran spinner has contributed 21 runs in his last two outings at No.4 in CSK's recent matches, as the likes of Dewald Brevis and Shivam Dube have had to come in to bat as low as No.6 and No.7, respectively.
Thinking that having Jadeja and Ashwin higher up the order will Dewald Brevis and Shivam Dube following a top-order collapse has not panned out so far, as the pair have had to bat under even more crisis, with pretty much no batting to come after them.
Given that Brevis and Dube are the best batters CSK have against spin at the moment, they should be operating in the middle overs, ideally when only a couple of wickets have fallen, and not after a full-fledged collapse.