Ahmedabad, May 21 (IANS) Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have handed opportunities to Gurjapneet Singh and Matthew Short as captain Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss and elected to bowl first against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Match 66 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

CSK head into their final league game knowing that a defeat will shut the door on their playoff hopes. Injuries have plagued their campaign, leaving them clinging to slim mathematical chances of entering the last four stage.

Though a victory here will not guarantee them a top‑four berth, as CSK have to be dependent on other results to go in their favour. After winning the toss, Gaikwad said Gurjapneet and Short are included in place of Akeal Hosein and Prashant Veer.

“There will be some pace and bounce, and we want to explore it early on. It is about trusting the process, and we didn’t get the results our way. We want to keep it simple and turn it around,” he said.

GT, meanwhile, will be keen to arrest any slide in momentum ahead of the playoffs, and a win over CSK would also strengthen their push for a top‑two finish. Skipper Shubman Gill said pacer Prasidh Krishna replaces R Sai Kishore in their playing eleven when the GT bowling innings comes.

“We’d have bowled first. Doesn’t make a difference as there’s not much dew. It’s all about keeping the intensity up. Our fielding hasn’t been on par in the last couple of seasons.

“Our bowling has been right up there, and batting has been good too. All three departments need to come together. Just because we have a Q, doesn’t mean the job is done. Hope for three more good games,” he said.

The pitch report by Graeme Swann and Aaron Finch said Thursday’s game will be played on a red soil pitch, with square boundaries at 62 and 70 metres respectively, while the ground boundary is at 72 metres. Both opined that the pitch having green grass just tells them that it will hold enough pace in what is expected to be a good batting wicket.

Playing XIs:

Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Urvil Patel, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Matthew Short, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary, and Gurjapneet Singh

Impact substitutes: Kartik Sharma, Macneil Noronha, Sarfaraz Khan, Kuldip Yadav, and Aman Khan

Gujarat Titans: B Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Jos Buttler (wk), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada, Arshad Khan, and Mohammed Siraj

Impact substitutes: Prasidh Krishna, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Phillips, Kulwant Khejroliya, and Kumar Kushagra

–IANS

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