Gujarat Titans get another chance to seal the top spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 when they take on bottom-placed Chennai Super Kings in the final doubleheader of the season at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. In the other clash of the day, an inconsequential match-up, Sunrisers Hyderabad host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
The two fixtures could not have presented a more stark contrast. Three teams have only their pride to play for, while the onus will be on one team to win and secure the top spot.
Gujarat Titans, the 2022 IPL champions, are currently perched at the top of the standings with 18 points going into their final league phase match. They have Punjab Kings (PBKS), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and Mumbai Indians breathing down their necks, separated by a narrow margin. PBKS is in second position with 17 points, the same as RCB but with a superior net run rate. Mumbai Indians are on 16 points and have a match against PBKS.
If GT lose to CSK on Sunday and PBKS or MI win their match on Monday, the winner will overtake GT to take the top spot. But the musical chairs at the top of the table will take one final turn if RCB emerges victorious against Lucknow Super Giants in the final league match of the season to be played at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, on Tuesday.
So, winning the match against CSK on Sunday will help GT push the envelope beyond the reach of their pursuers, securing the top spot with 20 points, as the most points PBKS and RCB can garner will be 19.
So, Shubman Gill's side has all to play for and win the match; otherwise, they can fall to third position in the table and thus lose the advantage the top two placed teams enjoy in the playoffs. The top two teams will start the proceedings in the Playoffs stage with a clash at the New PCA Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh on Thursday (May 29) with the winner securing a place in the final while the losing team will have another chance to reach the summit clash by taking on the winner of the clash between the third and fourth-placed teams, who meet in the Eliminator a the same venue on May 30.
Shubman Gill's side had the opportunity to secure the top spot if they had beaten Lucknow Super Giants on May 22. They lost by 33 runs and left the door ajar for the chasing pack to harbour hopes of overtaking them.
Opener Sai Sudharsan said they will go all-out to seal the top position by winning the match against CSK. He said the hunger in this team is strong, it wants to seal the top position.
Definitely (we will be going for a win), because of the experience we have, hunger is a bit more. I would say the hunger to finish in the top 2 is definitely more. And from the planning point of view, there won't be a big difference for us as a team. We don't change a lot for a result. We don't try and do a lot of different things even if the match goes the other way. Our planning and our preparations will be similar to what we have done in all 13 games so far.
I think we will try to be more proactive and react well in this game so that we get the right result. We are more focused on what we can control, our results and our plans and our preparations, our execution are in our control. So, we don't think about the other teams, results, and whether the other team has won or lost. But as a team, we have considerations about finishing one or two.
In a tournament like this, which is very competitive, I think if we get an extra opportunity in the playoffs, it will be the best thing a team can get. So, from that point of view, I think we are focusing on finishing one or two and giving out the best in the last game at the same team not focusing on what the other teams are doing.
Gill's side is the in-form team in IPL 2025 with a top-order that have fired on all cylinders from the start. B Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill are the top two scorers in the league so far with 638 and 636 runs respectively, while Jos Buttler is in eighth position with 533 runs. Winning the match with a good score will be an added incentive for the former England captain as Sunday's clash with CSK will be his last for the season. Buttler is leaving for national duty ahead of the playoff fixtures.
On the bowling front, Prasidh Krishna is the top performer with the ball this season, with 21 wickets in 13 matches alongside CSK's Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad. Spinner Sai Kishore and Mohammed Siraj, too, have done well with 16 and 15 wickets respectively.
This will be the first match for Gill, Sudharsan, and Prasidh Krishna after being named in the senior national squad for the upcoming tour of England -- Gill being named as the successor of Rohit Sharma as the new captain.
Their opponents, Chennai Super Kings, have had a wretched season so far this season but now have a chance of ending the season on a winning note, just like Delhi Capitals did on Saturday night. They will also have an opportunity to groom some of their young players, which will help them build a side for next year's edition.
Their skipper, MS Dhoni, is in a position where every match could be his last one in the Indian Premier League because he has not yet officially confirmed whether he will continue playing in the next edition too.
GT have the edge in terms of current form and head-to-head stats. They get into Sunday's clash with three wins in their last five matches, while CSK have lost four of their last five matches. Overall, in seven matches, GT have won four while CSK have three.
The conditions are expected to be tough with the temperature in the high 30s for this afternoon clash, because of which the local authorities have made elaborate arrangements to provide the spectators some succor from the heat.
Probable playing XIs:
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (capt), B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, M Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Gerald Coetzee, Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Chennai Super Kings: Ayush Mhatre, Shaik Rasheed, Urvil Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, R Ashwin, MS Dhoni (wk, capt), Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana
SRH, KKR play for pride, bragging rights
In the second match on Sunday, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders will be playing for pride and bragging rights when they meet in an inconsequential match on Sunday evening.
Both teams were in contention for playoff spots till a week back but failed to clinch their places. KKR, the three-time winner who were defending the title they won in 2024, but were dethroned after they suffered a loss too many.
KKR are in seventh position with 12 points while SRH are following close behind with 11. Victory will help them finish the league on a winning note and move up the points table for an improved position.
SRH got into the match with three wins, a loss and a no-result in their last five matches while KKR have two wins, two losses and a no-result. Overall, they have played each other 29 times, with KKR winning 20 over them.
Probable playing XIs:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Harshit Rana, Anrich Nortje, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Harsh Dubey, Pat Cummins (capt), Harshal Patel, Eshan Malinga, Jaydev Unadkat.
