Titans too tall: CSK out of IPL playoff race as Gujarat’s top-order machine rolls on

NEW DELHI: Gujarat Titans edged closer to finishing in the top two spots in IPL 2026 after beating Chennai Super Kings by 89 runs in Ahmedabad on Thursday.Gill, Sudharsan and Buttler powered Gujarat Titans to 229/4 before their bowlers bundled out CSK for 140 in 13.4 overs.Shubman Gill scored 64 off 37 balls while B Sai Sudharsan scored 84 off 53 balls as the opening pair added 125 runs. It was their seventh century partnership in the IPL, the most by any pair in the history of the tournament.Jos Buttler then added the finishing touches with an unbeaten 57 off 27 balls.Needing a win to stay alive in the playoffs, CSK lost four wickets in the powerplay and never recovered. The defeat also confirmed that the five-time champions failed to qualify for the play-offs for the third consecutive season.Mohammed Siraj struck early for GT and removed Sanju Samson off the first ball of the innings. Samson aimed a wide delivery behind Buttler.Siraj finished with three wickets in the over, while Kagiso Rabada dismissed Matthew Short after the batsman mistimed a shot to mid-off.Only Shivam Dube showed some resistance for CSK with a 17-ball 47 filled with sixes, but the chase ended quickly.GT now have nine wins from 14 matches and 18 points. Sunrisers Hyderabad can also reach 18 points if they beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru who already have 18 points.Earlier, Gill started aggressively and targeted left-arm pacer Spencer Johnson in the powerplay. He reached his fifty in 23 balls while Sudharsan completed his half-century in 35 balls, his fifth consecutive IPL fifty.Gill scored most of the runs during his 125-run stand using cuts, flicks and flicks to keep the scoreboard moving.When Noor Ahmad came into the attack, Gill immediately attacked him with two sixes.The partnership also helped Gill and Sudharsan surpass the pair of David Warner-Shikhar Dhawan and Travis Head-Abhishek Sharma who had six centuries each in IPL history.After Gill got out, Sudharsan and Buttler kept the score high. Sudharsan continued to play in control while Buttler hit four sixes, including two against Noor Ahmad, as GT crossed the 220-run mark.