IPL 2024: Top 10 Memes from CSK vs GT, Match 7

It was a repeat of the epic final of IPL 2023, albeit with there being a few changes to the composition of each side as well as with the venue of course, with Match 7 of IPL 2024 being played at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The match also signified the battle of the freshly-appointed captains - Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shubman Gill, both of whom got off to winning starts in their respective debut matches as skippers.

Gill won the toss and in a hilarious brain-fade moment, almost forgot what he had intended to opt for, initially choosing to bat but immediately changing his decision. The CSK openers got off to an absolute flyer - with a boundary being scored at the very minimum off every powerplay over other than the first one. Both of them went all guns blazing until Rashid Khan was introduced in the final over of the powerplay. On the second ball of the sixth over, with Rachin all set for a big score as well as reaching his fifty facing the second-least deliveries behind Andre Russell, was cleverly stumped by SRH's wicketkeeper, Wriddhiman Saha on 46 (21), in an innings which was powered with six fours and three sixes. The next batter to fall was Ajinkya Rahane, again stumped while wanting to break the shackles by stepping down the ground, who just couldn't get going in his innings which ended with him managing 12 off the same number of deliveries.

Shivam Dubey was the next player to come at the crease, and without wasting any time, displayed his big-hitting prowess against spinners - sending left-arm orthodox Sai Kishore for two consecutive towering maximums. Skipper Gaikwad departed at the same score made by Rachin, leaving CSK at 127/3 after 12.3 overs. Notwithstanding the fact that Kiwi Daryll Mitchell was struggling during his time at the crease, Dube went all out to bring up his 50 in just 22 deliveries, an innings so spectacular that it made even MS Dhoni stand and applaud, with the crowd in the stadium going absolutely berserk after the cameras would focus on the focal point in the dressing room. Debutant Sameer Rizwi came out and smacked a six off his very first ball of the marquee tournament, that too off the bowling of the Afghan icon, leaving the CSK dressing room in absolute splits. CSK ended with a score of 206/6, with the surprise package being Rashid, who went for 49 in his quota, even though scalping a couple.

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GT had it all to do during the chase. They didn't start well, with Gill falling cheaply on a score of 8 off 5, while trying to pull a ball not that short off Deepak Chahar, and got out plumb in front, with him going for an unsuccessful review. The top-scorer of GT's curtain-raiser against the Mumbai Indians, southpaw Sai Sudhersan, hit a crisp 37 as well, but was the first victim of Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana, with one Impact Player dismissing the other.

Mitchell was brought on as the fifth-change, with him getting in the act, making Vijay Shankar nick one through to Dhoni, who took a two-handed catch after stretching like an absolute rubber band with utmost elasticity and fluidity, reminding everyone of his wicketkeeping prowess. The middle-order boasting the likes of  Shankar, David Miller, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Rahul Tewatia never got going, with none of the aforementioned batters reaching the 25-run mark, as GT's innings toppled like nine pins, with each of Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, and Mustafizur Rahman picking up a couple of wickets apiece. At the end of their 20 overs, GT ended up with a disappointing 143/8, granting the home team a dominant 63-run victory. 30-year-old Dube was awarded the Player of the Match award, for his consummate innings in the first-half of the match. 

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Meanwhile, X was abuzz with amusing reactions to the CSK vs GT match. Here are a few of them -