'Deepak Chahar to Begin With...': Sanjay Manjrekar Shares Plan How CSK Can Stop Shubman Gill in IPL Final

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has given a suggestion to Chennai Super Kings for stopping Shubman Gill in the IPL 2023 final. Shubman has been in the form of his life in the ongoing season of IPL and has scored 851 runs this season thus far including three centuries. The talented young opener also scored a sublime fifty against CSK in the opening match of the season, however, he failed to help his team breach the Chepauk fortress in the Qualifier 1.

Gill scored 42 runs in the Qualifier 2 and it was Deepak Chahar who got the better of him. The swing specialists will have a tough job getting the better of Gill with the new ball early in the final to give CSK a big advantage.

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Manjrekar suggested that CSK should use Manjrekar and the spinner from the other end to put Gill on the backfoot.

“Deepak Chahar to begin with. Swing bowler, get the ball to come back in, hopefully, Gill is on the backfoot and not on the frontfoot so that’s one chance. Get spin early because Tushar Deshpande I think Gill will manage quite easily,” said Manjrekar.

While the former batter suggested that Maheesh Theekshana might cause trouble for Gill in the powerplay overs.

“Somebody like Theekshana bowling it straight and hoping that there’s a slight lapse of concentration and the pad comes in line of the ball and if there is some turn, which is unlikely, then Jadeja with two right-handers at the top. But I am sure MS will go with Chahar and then one of the two spinners,” he added.

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Tom Moody also agreed with Manjrekar’s suggestion and said Chahar and Theekshana will be key for CSK in the powerplay.

“I think it’s Chahar with the new ball, he needs to strike with a couple of early wickets just to expose that middle order as quickly as possible and obviously Gill is the big prize. If he can strike early and another option that MS Dhoni might go to early in that powerplay stage is Theekshana, I think he may also be an option considered so I think that is the key for CSK,” said Moody.