TEWATIA, RASHID SECURE THE WIN!
The finishers for Gujarat Titans have done their job again. Rashid started it off by hitting Chahar for a six and a four in the penultimate over, when GT needed 23 runs. In the last over, Tewatia does it again, and GT wins with four balls to spare. That’s how GT should end. CSK fought hard with the ball, but their batting was probably not as good.
That was the best possible start to IPL 2023! Join us again tomorrow, when we’ll have a nice double feature.
Overs 10-15: Gill goes down as a close finish looks likely
GT 138/4, need 41
He got to 50 in just 30 balls, and soon after, Hardik Pandya swept across the line to Jadeja and was bowled. It was up to him to finish the innings. Soon, he gets a six when Ruturaj parries one over the ropes, but he loses the next ball when he tries to take on Deshpande. It has put GT in a dangerous position going into the last leg of the race.
Overs 6–10: Gill is in front of the pack
GT 93/2
Sai Sudarshan did a good job with his 22 runs in 17 balls. He kept the run rate from going down and made a 52-run stand with Gill, who has been in great form the whole time. GT is still in the hunt and is in a position very similar to CSK at the same time. Since it hasn’t rained yet, CSK will still think they have a chance against a weak batting lineup.
Overs 1–6: A good start for GT
GT 56/1
Before he hit one to third man off Hangargekar, Saha got started with a 16-ball 25. As the fifty comes up in the powerplay, Gill challenges Deshpande to raise the stakes. Sudarshan, a batter who bats at the top of the order, has replaced the injured Williamson. However, with Shami now at No. 8, GT is still weak at the bottom of the order. If they hadn’t been hurt, they would have swapped a batter for a bowler. How the top order handles things now will determine a lot.
Tushar Deshpande takes the place of Ambati Rayudu, and Sai Sudarshan takes the place of Kane Williamson.
INNINGS BREAK
15–20: Ruturaj is out on 92, and CSK is at 178.
After hitting four fours and nine sixes, the opener was out when he holed out to long on off a high full toss. Still, CSK got a little boost at the end when Dhoni hit a six and a four and Dube hit a six. Moeen Ali says between innings that CSK would still think they are short. The pitch has been mostly good for strokeplay. Only back of length or fast deliveries have been a little bit of a problem. The chase should be a lot of fun, but we’ll know who our two impact subs are before that. Keep watching…
10–15: Ruturaj looks at a lot
CSK 133/4
Only forty runs happen during this time. Rayudu was going for a run-a-ball 12 that also had a six, but Josh Little bowled him when he went for a big hit. Kane Williamson had to be helped off the field after he hurt his knee trying to stop a six. This is a big worry for GT. That could deal them a big blow.
Overs 6–10: Ruturaj gets a fifty off 23 balls!
CSK: 93/3
Ruturaj has been very cruel since he was almost out of food. He hits Alzarri and Hardik for five sixes as he gets to his IPL fifty the fastest. In the middle, Rashid got his second wicket when Stokes was caught behind the wicket, but that hasn’t stopped CSK, which has been doing really well. But only Ruturaj has found his groove on this pitch so far. He’s hit 57 out of a possible 93.
Shami and Rashid hit, but CSK is still fast and lost a DRS.
CSK 51/2
Early on in the innings, there was some movement for the fast bowlers. Shami got past a swinging Conway to get his 100th IPL wicket.
But Moeen Ali is going hard against him and he’s been hit for 17 runs in an over. On the other end, Josh Little is the first Irish player to play in the IPL. Ruturaj puts pressure on him by hitting him for a four and a six. So CSK still gets off to a quick start, knocking over 51 in the powerplay.
But GT has a trump card in Rashid Khan, the spinner. Ali was given LBW, but the call was overturned because the ball pitched outside Ali’s leg. But he catches him behind with a googly in the same over.
Gujarat Titans choose to bowl at the toss.
When asked about the playing eleven, Hardik Pandya says, “I don’t know.” Right away, that’s what the new rule means. As soon as we get the teams, we’ll give them to you.
Teams:
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Kane Williamson, Hardik Pandya(c), Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Joshua Little, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph
Gujarat Titans Subs: B Sai Sudharsan, Jayant Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Abhinav Manohar, KS Bharat
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni(w/c), Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Rajvardhan Hangargekar
Chennai Super Kings Subs: Tushar Deshpande, Subhranshu Senapati, Shaik Rasheed, Ajinkya Rahane, Nishant Sindhu
Welcome…
So now it’s here! The tournament season of new things. And the promise that it will be just as good and exciting as every other IPL season. Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans will play MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings in the first game, which should be a good one. The Impact Player rule will be the main thing that people will want to know about. We’ll have to wait for the toss, which will happen very soon, to find out. Keep watching…
