The equation before Chennai is very difficult. Chennai Super Kings will first have to defeat Gujarat by a big margin. After this, Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings would have to lose their last matches, while Kolkata Knight Riders could register only one win in their remaining two matches. This means that even after victory, Chennai may have to wait till May 24. If it loses, the team will be out of the playoffs for the third consecutive season. This is considered to be a period of major decline for the team, which has missed the playoffs only twice between 2008 and 2023.

On the other hand, the position of Gujarat Titans is quite strong. The team, which has reached the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons, now wants to secure a place in the top-2. If Gujarat wins, its claim will become stronger. Even in case of defeat, the team can remain in second place, but for this Royal Challengers Bangalore will have to defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad.

In this match, most eyes will be on Rashid Khan and Ruturaj Gaikwad. In the last match, KKR had given out 57 runs in four overs to Rashid, which was the most expensive figure of his IPL career.

However, he has performed brilliantly throughout the season by taking 16 wickets in 13 matches. He suffered a lot in the first match against Chennai also. In such a situation, Rashid would like to make a strong comeback in this match.

The performance of CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad is also in the news. He is the second highest run scorer of the team, but his strike rate in powerplay has been only 121. This figure is considered quite slow in the fast game of IPL. Coach Stephen Fleming is still expressing confidence in him, but his impact has been much less than last season.

On top of that, Sanju Samson has added to the pressure by performing brilliantly this season.

Chennai has received another big blow in the form of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Batting coach Mike Hussey said that Dhoni has returned to Ranchi due to a thumb injury. He will join the team only if CSK reaches the playoffs.

Sai Sudarshan is also close to creating history for Gujarat. He needs just one more fifty to score his fifth consecutive IPL half-century. If this happens, he will be at par with legends like Jos Buttler, Virender Sehwag and David Warner.

The match will be played on red soil pitch number 7. This season, only one match was played on this pitch, in which a total of 414 runs were scored and Rajasthan defended 210 runs. In such a situation, another high scoring match is expected.