NEW DELHI: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat first in Match 67 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. CSK have struggled throughout the season, currently sitting at the bottom of the points table with just three wins and seven losses, accumulating six points.Gujarat Titans (GT), meanwhile, have enjoyed an impressive campaign, winning nine of their 13 matches. With 18 points to their name, a win in this match would further strengthen their position heading into the playoffs.In a moment that caught attention off the field, MS Dhoni’s superfan Saravanan Hari expressed disappointment on social media after being denied entry with a CSK flag at the Ahmedabad venue. “CSK flag not allowed inside ground. Narendra Modi Stadium,” Hari wrote.Speaking at the toss, Dhoni said: “We will bat first. It (pitch) looks nice and hard, think it will remain the same throughout the 40 overs. It’s quite hot, looks like a good track. It’s (his body) surviving. Every year is a new challenge. It needs a lot of maintenance. Didn’t trouble me enough when I was playing international cricket. Chennai is very nice after 3.30-4 pm, this is a different heat, on the drier side. We are last in the table; we will still remain last, whether we win or lose.Need to enjoy our cricket. We have one change. Hooda is back for Ashwin. They are a good side, they play authentic cricket. Need to bowl tight lines, otherwise the batters will punish you.”GT skipper Shubman Gill, who was recently named India’s Test captain, also shared his thoughts at the toss: “Feels exciting to have that (Test captaincy) challenge, it’s going to be an exciting series against England for us. In the last match we were in the game till the 16th or 17th over. We were looking to bowl first today anyway. Looks a good wicket to bat on, it won’t change much. We have one change, Gerald Coetzee comes in for Kagiso Rabada.“Playing XIs:Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Gerald Coetzee, R Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Arshad Khan, Prasidh Krishna.Impact Subs: Sai Sudharsan, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma.Chennai Super Kings: Ayush Mhatre, Devon Conway, Urvil Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Deepak Hooda, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed.Impact Subs: Matheesha Pathirana, Vijay Shankar, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Ravichandran Ashwin.
