It’s the last day of the 3rd month of 2023 and we are heading towards the mega event, i.e. IPL 2023. Defending champions Gujarat Titans will face one of the most dominating IPL sides of all time (Chennai Super Kings) in Match 1 of IPL 2023.
Will Hardik’s lead GT be able to defeat Super Kings or the old legend MS Dhoni would emerge as the winner in the first match? Here we will cover this match in detail and a fantasy team will be provided at the end.
Date and Time: 31 March, Friday, 7:30 PM IST
Streaming Platforms: Star Sports Network and Viacom18’s OTT platform JioCinema
Team Preview
Chennai Super Kings
CSK might not be in their best form in the last season but they are known to play finals every time they play the tournament. They have played a total of 9 finals out of their 12 IPL appearances and would look to start their IPL 2023 journey with a win to pave the first step on their way to the finals.
Their opening looks one of the most settled among all teams. Two world-class allrounders in the form of Jadeja and Stokes with MSD at middle order are their other strengths. Players’ fitness due to their age might prove to be their major weakness going ahead in the tournament.
Gujarat Titans
Gujarat couldn’t have asked for a better first IPL tournament than what they have achieved in the last year. Hardik’s rise as a captain was a major outcome for team India and he would look to perform the same again (both as a player and captain) in this edition.
With the likes of Hardik, Miller (unavailable for Match 1), Tewatia, and Rashid in the middle and lower order, the addition of Kane Williamson as an anchor could prove a boon for the Titans. Their opener Shubman Gill too is also in his dream form and would look to carry the same in IPL 2023.
Pitch Report/Venue Report
The pitch of Ahmedabad would help fast bowlers as well as batsmen. The latest T20I match played here was high scoring in the first innings with India scoring 234-4 but New Zealand bundled for just 66 runs.
In the last two editions of IPL, a total of 7 matches have been played on this ground with the team chasing winning 5 of them. 154 is the average first innings score in these games.
Probable Playing XI
Chennai Super Kings: Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c) (WK), Dwaine Pretorius, Deepak Chahar, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade (WK), Kane Williamson, Sai Sudarshan, Hardik Pandya (C), Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Shivam Mavi, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami
Players to Watch Out For
Shubman Gill: Titans’ star opener is in sublime form for the national team. On the same ground against New Zealand, he hit his maiden T20I century. His form against CSK has not been of top level in the past averaging just 21.78 in 10 innings. He would look to improve his record against CSK and start IPL 2023 with a bang.
Hardik Pandya: Gujarat’s captain has struck 171 runs against CSK with a strike rate of over 155. His last year performance was a key factor in GT’s trophy-winning campaign (487 runs and 9 wickets)
Rashid Khan: Rashid will always be the crucial player for the team he plays. Against CSK, he has 11 wickets in 12 matches and would look to improve the record according to his standards. His record against Stokes and Gaikwad in T20 (5 dismissals combined for just 68 runs in 56 balls) would be important matchups.
Rituraj Gaikwad: He was the orange cap winner in 2021 (CSK won IPL that year). Gaikwad’s record against GT is also good with 2 fifties in 2 matches and would aim at his hat trick of half-centuries against them.
Ravindra Jadeja: His MOTS performance in BGT 2023 would prove as a confidence booster for him in IPL 2023. In the last 3 IPL seasons, Jadeja has nearly 600 runs at a strike rate of nearly 150. With the ball, he has 24 wickets too under his belt.
Deepak Chahar: Chahar is one of the best power-play bowlers in the current set of pacers playing in the IPL. He can demolish a complete batting line-up on his day. Deepak’s battle against Shubman is another one to watch out for (45 runs in 33 balls with 2 dismissals).
Key Matchups
Ruturaj Gaikwad vs Mohammed Shami: Runs-37 Balls-52 Out-0
Moeen Ali vs Rashid Khan: Runs-66 Balls-43 Out-3
MS Dhoni vs Rashid Khan: Runs-24 Balls-35 Out-1
Ben Stokes vs Rashid Khan: Runs-11 Balls-18 Out-2
Ben Stokes vs Mohammed Shami: Runs-16 Balls-14 Out-2
Moeen Ali vs Rahul Tewatia: Runs-3 Balls-4 Out-2
Shubman Gill vs Deepak Chahar: Runs-45 Balls-33 Out-2
Shubman Gill vs Ravindra Jadeja: Runs-38 Balls-26 Out-2
Kane Williamson vs Moeen Ali: Runs-33 Balls-21 Out-0
CSK vs GT Dream11 Team
This is not our final Dream11 team as we are not aware of the toss results/final playing xi of both teams at this moment. To remain updated and get our final Dream11 team, join our Telegram channel “Clan For Gamers“
Match Predictions
- Gujarat Titans will win the inaugural match of IPL 2023.
- The team batting first would score 170+.
- Shami will take 2 or more wickets
