The Gujarat Titans began their TATA IPL 2023 campaign with a victory, defeating the Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in the opening match at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday.
A standout performance from Shubman Gill, who scored 63 runs off 36 balls, aided the Titans in their pursuit of 179 runs. Earlier, Ruturaj Gaikwad had impressed with a rapid 92 off 50 balls for the Super Kings. Rashid Khan also played a pivotal role for the Titans, taking 2/26 from four overs and contributing 10 runs off 3 balls alongside Rahul Tewatia (15 off 14) to secure the win.
The Titans began their chase with a strong start from Saha and Gill, who targeted the IPL’s first-ever Impact player, Tushar Deshpande. The pair scored 15 runs off the second over, with Saha taking an aggressive approach. However, debutant Rajvardhan Hangargekar dismissed Saha (25) shortly after, thanks to a brilliant catch by Shivam Dube.
B Sai Sudharsan, the Titans’ Impact Player, replaced the injured Kane Williamson and made an immediate impact, flicking his first ball for four. Gill and Sudharsan continued to score, but Hangargekar struck again, dismissing Sudharsan for 22. Despite this, Gill reached his fifty off just 30 balls.
CSK claimed a significant wicket when Ravindra Jadeja bowled Titans captain Hardik Pandya for 8. Gill and Vijay Shankar added 27 runs off 17 balls before Deshpande dismissed Gill (63 off 36). With 30 runs needed off 18 balls, the pressure mounted, but Shankar and Tewatia managed to bring the equation down to 8 runs off 6 balls.
In the final over, Tewatia hit a six and a four to secure the win for Gujarat by five wickets. Hangargekar was the standout performer for CSK, taking 3/36 on his IPL debut.
Earlier, the Titans won the toss and elected to bowl. The Super Kings started well, with Gaikwad and Devon Conway opening the batting. However, Mohd. Shami dismissed Conway and claimed his 100th IPL wicket. Gaikwad continued to attack, reaching his fifty in just 23 balls. He was eventually caught by Gill for 92 off 50 balls.
In the end, the Super Kings set a target of 178/7, but the Titans’ strong batting performance ensured a winning start to their IPL 2023 campaign.