The Indian Premier League will enter into its sixteenth season after its inception way back in 2008. The IPL is arguably the biggest sporting event in the country, and the fans have been way too excited for its return.
For the first time since 2019, The tournament will be played in its usual home-away format. The viewers and fans are very excited to watch and support their favorite IPL teams from the stadiums.
The IPL is just around the corner, as the season-opener is set to be played on Friday. The defending champions Gujarat Titans, lock horns against four-time trophy-winners, the Chennai Super Kings.
The season-opener will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad where both sides will be looking to start the season on a winning note.
What have they done so far?
Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings were on different ends of the points table at the end of IPL 2022. Gujarat Titans won the silverware after a fabulous winning streak. On the other hand, CSK could win only four of their fourteen matches in the group stage, finishing seventh as a result.
The Titans won the title in their maiden season while the Super Kings failed to qualify for the knockout rounds for the first time in their history. With two very different scenarios at the end of the 2022 season, both sides have made some off-the-field reinforcements ahead of the upcoming season.
Before the auction, Gujarat Titans traded Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Lockie Ferguson to Kolkata Knight Riders. The New Zealand pacer was replaced by the young and energetic Joshua Little, a left-arm bowler from Ireland, who will be playing his maiden IPL season.
The Titans also acquired the services of the talented speedster Shivam Mavi. Mavi has ample IPL experience under his belt and could be crucial in his side’s chances of defending the title. Veteran batsman, Kane Williamson was also added to the squad along with Odean Smith and Srikar Bharat to bolster the batting might.
Chennai Super Kings roped in the likes of Ben Stokes and Ajinkya Rahane at the auction. Along with that, the Super Kings have also looked to add some young firepower to their squad as Under-19 Stars like Shaik Rasheed and Nishant Sindhu were roped in. The management has recently announced South African pacer Sisanda Magala as Kyle Jamieson’s replacement.
Head To Head Record
The Gujarat Titans are a newly-formed franchise, that participated in the tournament for the first time in 2022. The two sides met twice in the group stages last year. The head-to-head record stands 2-0 in favor of the Ahmedabad outfit. Both the games were close encounters and ended in Hardik & Co’s favor.
In the first match, Gujarat Titans chased down a target of 170, with one ball to spare. A heroic inning of 94* from David Miller, and a late flourish from Rashid Khan ensured that Gujarat Titans walked away with the win. Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 73 off 48 balls in the first innings for CSK.
The second fixture was a low-scoring one. Another last-over chase this time was led by Wriddhiman Saha, as he scored an unbeaten 67. Ruturaj Gaikwad was impressive, yet again, as he scored his second half-century against the Titans.
Key Players
Rashid Khan (Gujarat Titans): The superstar leg-spinner from Afghanistan could be the most important player for the Gujarat Titans in this match. The Chennai Super Kings have a variety of left-handers in their arsenal.
Keeping the likes of Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, and Devon Conway quiet will be the main motive of the Gujarat Titans. Rashid Khan is their go-to man, and these are some very interesting matchups that work in favor of the Afghan bowler. Rashid has a decent record against the Super Kings, with 10 wickets to his name.
The young leggie has also kept the dangerous finisher MS Dhoni at bay. Hardik has the luxury to use Rashid at any point in the match. His quota of four overs could make or break the match for Gujarat Titans.
Rashid Khan could be crucial on all fronts against CSK
One should not forget that Rashid can play handy knocks as a batsman as well. He scored 40 runs off 21 balls against CSK last season. His finishing ability with the bat could also be crucial for the Titans.
Ben Stokes (Chennai Super Kings): Ben Stokes was actively pursued by the Chennai Super Kings at the auction table. One would guess him to be the ideal replacement for MS Dhoni, should the latter decide to hang up his boots. In a recent interview, batting coach Mike Hussey confirmed that Ben Stokes will only be used as a pure batter in the initial matches of the tournament.
Stokes could still contribute a lot against Gujarat. His hard-hitting and fearless batting approach could be game-changing for his team in this opening encounter. The England test skipper has a healthy strike rate of 145 while batting on Indian pitches.
Predicted XIs
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, Hardik Pandya ©, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Shivam Mavi, Mohammad Shami, Joshua Little
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni ©, Deepak Chahar, Mukesh Choudhary, Matheesha Pathirana
Prediction
This is the first game of the season. It will thus be difficult to predict the outcome of the game, as not much can be said about form. Being the defending champions, the Gujarat Titans have not been able to bolster their squad when compared to last year.
They have managed to retain their core, but their pace attack is missing the likes of Ferguson. Hardik Pandya and Rashid Khan will have to prove their worth for Gujarat to win the match.
Chennai, on the other hand, looks more balanced on paper than last season. The presence of Stokes and Deepak Chahar in the playing XI could be crucial in the Super Kings winning the match.