The league stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has come to an end and it's finally the business end of the tournament which has kicked off with the face off between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Qualifier 1. The match is being played at the MA Chidamabaram Stadium in Chennai. However, soon after the match started fans watching it on TV were left puzzled when they saw a special graphic whenever a dot ball was being bowled.
It was later clarified on air by the commentators that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will plant 500 trees for each dot ball that will be played in Playoff matches. Hence, quite fittingly, the broadcasters displayed a graphic of a tree whenever a ball was delivered of which no runs were scored or added to the total.
Talking about the match, CSK were asked to bat first by GT captain Hardik Pandya who won the toss and elected to bowl first. Later, when CSK skipper Dhoni was asked what he would he have chosen had he won the the toss, he also said that they would have looked to chase.
Having said that, the Men in Yellow did manage to post what could be a fighting total riding on half-century from Ruturaj Gaikwad (60 off 44) and a 40 off 34 from Devon Conway. Ravindra Jadeja (22 off 16), Ambati Rayudu (17 off 9) and Ajinkya Rahane (17 off 10) played vital cameos to push the team's total to 172/7. However, with Gujarat having a formidable record chasing in this edition of the tournament, this match seems likely to go down to the wire before the first finalist of the season is decided.
The team that loses the match though will get another opportunity to seal a place in the final and will take on the winner of the Elimiantor set to be played between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI).