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Chennai Super Kings middle order batter Moeen Ali believes that the team is 15 to 20 runs short in terms of posing a tough target for Gujarat Titans in the opening match of IPL 2023 being played at the Narendra Modi Stadium here.
Ahead of Gujarat Titan's chase, Moeen reflected on CSK's performance and felt that the score is challenging, it would have been excellent if there were 15-20 more runs on the board. "It's a score which is great to have. Little disappointed, should've got 15-20 more. Ruturaj was outstanding. It was a decent pitch once you went through your first 5-6 balls. Chennai's support has always been outstanding. When I was batting, it felt like the loudest crowd I've experienced in my career," Moeen Ali said. Ruturaj Gaikwad played a crucial role in taking Chennai's total to 178 runs. Moeen Ali played a short cameo with the bat. His knock of 23 (17) was short yet impactful. Gaikwad and Moeen Ali dominated the powerplay, but Rashid Khan came into the attack and changed the flow of the game. In the end, it was a competitive total set up by Chennai Super Kings. They lost Conway early but Gaikwad didn't lose his nerve. Chennai lost both their England all-rounders to Rashid Khan. However, Gaikwad continued to find boundaries on a consistent basis. Gujarat Titans managed to pull things back to an extent after the second strategic time-out. While Gujarat regrouped, CSK lost momentum. Gaikwad missed out on his century. He went for a six to compensate for CSK's inability to accelerate towards the end but ended up giving an easy catch to Shubman Gill. Dhoni came to play the finisher's role and ended CSK's innings with a couple of explosive shots. GT need 179 runs in 20 overs. (ANI)
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