NEW DELHI: Skipper Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan smashed brilliant hundreds in a record-equalling double hundred plus opening stand to power Gujarat Titans to a comfortable 35-run win over Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad on Friday.
With the win, Gujarat stayed alive in theory for a place in playoffs while CSK's -- although at No.4 -- chances of qualifying for the knockouts took a hit.
After their sixth defeat of the season, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad said the team did well overall execution-wise but leaked a few extra runs with poor fielding.
"Fielding let us down a little bit, we gave away 10-15 runs. Execution-wise we were good but they played really well. Two batters were exceptional and it's hard to control runs around the park," Gaikwad said in the post-match presentation.
Sudharsan struck 103 off 51 balls with five fours and seven sixes while Gill scored season's first ton -- a sublime 104 off 55 balls with half a dozen sixes to help GT post a daunting 231 for 3 after being sent into bat.
The two batters put on 210 runs for the first wicket and equalled the record set by Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul in 2022.
Chasing the stiff target, CSK witnessed a torrid start before Daryl Mitchell (63 off 34) and Moeen Ali (56 off 36) shared 109 runs for the fourth wicket to keep their team in the hunt.
But the target was too stiff as CSK were eventually restricted to 196 for 8 in 20 overs.
Towards the end, Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a 11-ball 26-run cameo but in vain.
For GT, Mohit Sharma (3/31) was the pick of the bowlers, while Rashid Khan (2/38) picked up two wickets.
(With inputs from PTI)
