IPL 2023 is all set to begin. The opening match of the 16th season will see two very good friends going up against each other as captains.
Hardik Pandya will lead his Gujarat Titans team out with the hope and aim of defending their title at the end of the season. MS Dhoni meanwhile will be leading CSK again, with the hope that they can bounce back hard after a very disappointing 9th place finish in IPL 2022.
Ahead of the season opener, TimesofIndia.com here takes a look at all the big details that you should know for this blockbuster clash:
What: IPL 2023 Match 1
Teams: Defending champions Gujarat Titans vs 4 time champions Chennai Super Kings
When: March 31, Friday - 7:30 PM IST start. Toss at 7 PM IST
Where: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Head to head of these two teams from IPL 2022: Gujarat Titans beat CSK both times they played last season - first by 3 wickets and then by 7 wickets
Where the two teams finished last season: While Gujarat Titans won the title in their maiden season, CSK finished 9th out of 10 teams
Win-Loss record of the two teams in IPL 2022 (league stage):
Gujarat Titans - Played - 14, Won - 10, Lost - 4, Points - 20 (Table Toppers)
Chennai Super Kings - Played - 14, Won - 4, Lost - 10, Points - 8 (Finished 9th)
Captains:
Gujarat Titans - Hardik Pandya
CSK - MS Dhoni
Likely Playing XIs:
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Wridhhiman Saha (WK), Kane Williamson, Hardik Pandya (C), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Shivam Mavi, R Sai Kishore
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (C & WK), Dwaine Pretorious, Deepak Chahar, Prahsant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh
Full squads:
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (captain), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Mohit Sharma, KS Bharat, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Odean Smith, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R. Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little.
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Ben Stokes, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Deepak Chahar, Ambati Rayudu, Subhranshu Senapati, Moeen Ali, Matheesha Pathirana, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Devon Conway, Tushar Deshpande, Mukesh Chowdhary, Simarjeet Singh, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Sisanda Magala, Ajay Mandal, Bhagath Varma.
Weather Forecast for Ahmedabad on March 31:
Maximum Temperature: 34 degrees celsius
Minimum Temperature: 23 degrees celsius
Hazy Sunshine
Wind: 11 kmph
Cloud Cover: 31 %
Chances of rain: 1%
Stadium Capacity: 1,32,000
Toss Factor: Ball likely to come on to the bat well in the second innings. Captain winning the toss might elect to chase, though batting first might give them a chance to put up a big score. Either way, with the new rules in place, the toss is unlikely to be a very big factor
Where to Watch:
Digital: You can catch ball by ball commentary, match analysis, latest scores, records and more on - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports
TV: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Jio Cinema
New Rules:
Impact Player: Both captains will have a list of 4 substitutes. 1 of them can be called in as the Impact Player to bat and bowl.
Name Playing XI after the toss: Both captains will be allowed to pick a playing XI they have pre-decided depending on the outcome of the toss. Teams could be prepared with two slightly different XIs, if they choose to do so. The team sheets will be exchanged after the toss.
