IPL 2026 | ‘Nice to see fast bowlers union coming together’: Kagiso Rabada

GT pacers Kagiso Rabada (left) and Mohammed Siraj celebrate the wicket of CSK’s Kartik Sharma in Chennai on Sunday. PICS/IPL

Bowlers calling the shots in a format dominated by big hitters is a rarity, but that script played out at Chepauk on Sunday as Gujarat Titans exploited a bounce-friendly surface to stifle Chennai Super Kings before chasing down the target through a Sai Sudharsan masterclass to win the IPL contest by eight wickets.

If the first half belonged to the bowlers, the chase was all about calculated aggression as Sudharsan produced a shining tutorial in adapting to conditions, smashing 87 off 46 balls to anchor GT's chase of 159. The win moved GT to fifth position from seventh with eight points. Earlier, on a pitch that offered sharp carry, stroke-making demanded discretion and adaptability.

GT's Sai Sudharsan after scoring his half-century on Sunday

Instead, CSK often opted for high-risk shots without fully assessing conditions, and paid the price with a flurry of miscued dismissals, managing 158-7. CSK never found rhythm, but skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (74 not out off 60 balls) lent a semblance of respectability to the total. The tone was set early by GT pacer Mohammed Siraj (1-23), who extracted steep bounce and forced errors.

Sanju Samson (11) began watchfully, negotiating the first over before opening up against Kagiso Rabada (3-25). However, Rabada's bounce soon accounted for him as a hard slash outside off resulted in a faint edge that Jos Buttler pouched safely. That triggered a collapse. Urvil Patel (4) fell in the same Rabada over attempting an ambitious pull, while Sarfaraz Khan (0) succumbed to Siraj's extra lift, mistiming a short ball to offer a simple catch.

On his combination with Siraj and other seamers, Rabada said, "Yeah, a lot of fast bowlers, that's been a clear tactic of Gujarat over the years, playing at Ahmedabad. So it's nice to see the fast bowlers union coming together and it's been working thus far.

Arshad Khan

"I think we've been taking a lot of wickets, but at the same time, we need to find ways to contain too. So it's been a really lovely journey that we've had so far," the South African pacer said. Left-arm pacer Arshad Khan (2-43) and spinner Manav Suthar (1-22) were the other wicket-takers for GT.

Brief scores
CSK 158-7 in 20 overs (R Gaikwad 74'; K Rabada 3-25, A Khan 2-43) lost to GT 162-2 in 16.4 overs (S Sudharsan 87, J Buttler 39', S Gill 33) by eight wickets

16.4
No of overs taken by GT to chase down the 159-run target against CSK on Sunday - their joint-fastest for targets over 150

49
No of balls taken by Ruturaj Gaikwad to score his half-century on Sunday - the sixth-slowest for CSK in IPL

12
No of overs CSK took to reach 50 on Sunday - their second-slowest in IPL; also the slowest 50 by any team this season

43-4
CSK's score after the first 10 overs - their second-lowest at Chepauk in IPL

Kagiso Rabada
3-25 off four overs

Mohammed Siraj
1-23 off four overs

Arshad Khan
2-43 off four overs

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