Gill starts off Gujarat in fine style

Gujarat Titans started their campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season with a five-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday.

Asked to bat Chennai posted 178 for seven in their 20 overs and in response Gujarat chased down the target in 19.2 overs to finish on 182 for five.

Earlier, Ruturaj Gaikwad held the innings together as he added crucial runs first with Moeen Ali and then with Ben Stokes. Then Gaikwad put on 51 runs for the fourth wicket with Ambati Rayudu. Gaikwad fell for 92 off 50 balls with four boundaries and nine sixes. Towards the end captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni used the long handle to good effect as Chennai finished on 178 for seven in their 20 overs. For Gujarat the best bowlers were Mohammed Shami (2-29), Rashid Khan (2-26) and Alzarri Joseph (2-33).

In their response Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill started off well for Gujarat. Gill took charge of the chase. He added 53 runs for the second wicket with Sai Sudharsan. Then Gill carried on as he added runs first with captain Hardik Pandya and then with Vijay Shankar. Gill finished on 63 off 36 balls with six boundaries and three sixes. In the end Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia added crucial runs as Gujarat crossed the line in 19.2 overs with four balls to spare to finish on 182 for five. For Chennai the best bowler was debutant Rajvardhan Hangargekar (3-36). 

Rashid Khan | Player of the Match: So happy to get this crucial Man of the Match. Will give me a lot of the energy for the rest of the competition. I try to do my best in all three formats, and give it all in the practice sessions. The plan is hard to bowl to lefties, but the idea was to keep it tight and I knew in my mind that if I keep it simple and get two wickets, we will be back in the game. I knew if I kept it simple we will get the results. ( On batting improvement) It is all thanks to the time we spend in the nets, and the confidence given to me by the coaching staff and captain Hardik. I've been batting a lot and the results are there to see.

Match Summary
Chennai Super Kings: 178-7 (20)
Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Devon Conway-2.2 ov), 2-50 (Moeen Ali-5.5 ov), 3-70 (Ben Stokes-7.4 ov), 4-121 (Ambati Rayudu-12.5 ov), 5-151 (Ruturaj Gaikwad-17.1 ov), 6-153 (Ravindra Jadeja-17.4 ov), 7-163 (Shivam Dube-18.3 ov)

Gujarat Titans: 182-5 (19.2)
Fall of wickets: 1-37 (Wriddhiman Saha, 3.5 ov), 2-90 (Sai Sudharsan, 9.3 ov), 3-111 (Hardik Pandya, 12.1 ov), 4-138 (Shubman Gill, 14.6 ov), 5-156 (Vijay Shankar, 17.6 ov)

Playing XIs

Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Shubman Gill, Kane Williamson, Hardik Pandya (captain), Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Josh Little, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph; Subs: B Sai Sudharsan, Jayant Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Abhinav Manohar, KS Bharat

Impact player: Sai Sudharsan for Kane Williamson (Gujarat Titans 1st innings, 3.7 ov)

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Ambati Rayudu, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper & captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Rajvardhan Hangargekar; Subs: Tushar Deshpande, Subhranshu Senapati, Shaik Rasheed, Ajinkya Rahane, Nishant Sindhu

Impact player: Tushar Deshpande for Ambati Rayudu (Gujarat Titans 1st innings, 0.1 ov)

Match Details

Toss: Gujarat Titans, elected to field
Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Start time: 1400 hrs GMT
Match officials: Nitin Menon, Saiyed Khalid (On-field Umpires); Virender Sharma (TV Umpire); Abhijit Bengeri (Reserve Umpire); Javagal Srinath (Match-referee)