Brevis, Conway fire CSK to 83-run win, dent GT's hopes of a top-2 finish
Ahmedabad, May 25 (PTI): Gujarat Titans’ hopes of a top-two finish in the IPL suffered a massive dent when they went down by 83 runs to Chennai Super Kings, who were powered by fifty-makers Devon Conway and Dewald Brevis, here Sunday.
The Titans have 18 points after a full set of 14 league matches and are still on top of the table despite the Net Run Rate taking a nose dive after this big defeat.
To maintain their position inside the top two, GT now require Royal Challengers Bengaluru (17 points) to go down to Lucknow Super Kings in their final league match.
It's important because either Mumbai Indians (16) or Punjab Kings (17 points) will overtake GT with a win from their face-off.
Cutting back to the match, once asked to chase a stiff 231, the Titans floundered badly losing in-form skipper Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler and Sherfane Rutherford in the Power Play passage itself with just 35 runs on the board.
The Gujarat side was bowled out for 147 in 18.3 overs.
Pacer Anshul Kamboj did the early damage, claiming the wickets of Gill and Rutherford.
Sai Sudharsan (41, 28b), the latest entrant into the India Test squad, and his Tamil Nadu team-mate M Shahrukh Khan (19) added 55 runs for the fourth wicket to infuse some interest into the chase.
But left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja returned for his second spell to dismiss both Sudharsan and Shahrukh in the space of four balls in the 11th over, and the match effectively ended at that point.
CSK finished their IPL 2025 engagements at the bottom of the pile with eight points from 14 matches, the five-time champions’ worst ever finish in the 10-team league.
Earlier, seasoned Conway and promising Brevis produced fifties of contrasting character, laying the foundation for Chennai Super Kings’ healthy 230 for five.
Once the Super Kings elected to bat on a super hot afternoon, Conway and Brevis led the charge with a 52 off 35 balls, and a 23-ball 57 on a smooth pitch.
But Conway’s knock was put to shade a bit by cameos by Ayush Mhatre (34, 17b) and Urvil Patel (37, 19b), who made runs at a respective strike rate of 200 and 194, ensured runs came at a fast clip for CSK.
The CSK raced out of the paddock, making 44 in just 3.4 overs, courtesy Mhatre’s brutal assault on pacer Arshad Khan.
Mhatre carved Arshad for 2, 6, 6, 4, 4, 6 in the second over to milk 28 runs and Chennai rarely let that momentum slip.
Mhatre, who was recently appointed as the India U19 skipper, soon fell to Prasidh Krishna, skying him to Mohammed Siraj in the deep.
But Urvil continued the aggressive ways, while adding 63 runs for the second wicket with Conway.
The highlight of his innings was a pick-up shot he played against veteran spinner Rashid Khan that sailed over his head for a six.
It's one thing to play that shot against pacers, but to impart timing and power to it against a spinner is totally another thing.
However, Urvil perished to left-arm spinner Sai Kishore immediately after hammering him for a six.
On the other hand, Conway showed a rare moment of aggression, launching Rashid for a six over long-on but was clean bowled in the very next ball.
But Brevis, who smashed India pacer Siraj for 6, 6, 4, justified his ‘Baby ABD’ tag to perfection, smashing GT bowlers all around the park.
The South African played a belligerent knock of his own to raise 74 runs for the entertaining fifth wicket alliance with Jadeja in which the latter contributed just 21 off 18 balls.
It was the CSK’s young batters’ final innings of this IPL, and it might have given a note of optimism for the management too for the next season.
Brief Scores:
Chennai Super Kings: 230 for 5 in 20 overs (Dewald Brevis 57, Devon Conway 52; Prasidh Krishna 2/22).
Gujarat Titans: 147 all out in 18.3 overs (Sai Sudharsan 41; Anshul Kamboj 3/13, Noor Ahmed 3/21).
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Woman, 2 sons found dead in Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): Three members of a family were found dead inside their home in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji on Friday, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, officials said.
Police said the incident came to light around 2.47 pm when a police team reached the premises to execute a court order related to possession of the property. When repeated knocks went unanswered, the staff used a duplicate key to open the door.
Inside, officers found Anuradha Kapoor (52) and her sons, Ashish Kapoor (32) and Chaitanya Kapoor (27), hanging from the ceiling, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said in a statement. All three were declared dead.
A handwritten note was recovered from the room, suggesting the family had been struggling with depression.
"The handwritten note indicates emotional distress faced by the family due to which the family may have taken the extreme step," the officer said.
The bodies have been shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) mortuary for post-mortem and other legal formalities under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), police said.
Residents of the neighbourhood said they were shocked to learn about the deaths, adding that the family kept largely to themselves.
Pankaj Kashyap, a resident of Girinagar, said he learnt about the deaths while leaving for work. "I live and work here and was leaving for work when I saw many people standing outside and talking. That is how I got to know that three people had committed suicide. I also saw several police vehicles outside, but I do not know much beyond that," he said.
Baldev, another neighbour, said the family had been living in the newly constructed house for around two years. "We only knew that a mother and her two children lived there. They had moved into the newly built house around two years ago. We did not interact much with them. Today we heard that all three have committed suicide, and whatever we know is based on what people here are saying," he said.
Another neighbour, Ramesh Kumar, claimed the family had earlier attempted suicide.
"About fifteen to twenty days ago, the two sons in the family had attempted suicide and police and ambulances had come. That was when I first got to know who they were. I do not recognise them by face, but we saw the ambulances and police take the two sons that day. Today again we saw ambulances and police arriving, so everyone came out to see what had happened. I do not know how long they had been living here, but this is all we know," he said.
Police said they are examining the family's financial condition, social circumstances, and other factors that may have contributed to the incident. Further investigation is underway.
