The 16th edition of the IPL will kick off with a clash between two captains who are also great friends off the field. As is tradition, the defending champions will start the season and match 1 of IPL 2023 will see the reigning champions Gujarat Titans take on 4 time champions the Chennai Super Kings in Ahmedabad.
There will be an opening ceremony ahead of the first match as well.
TimesofIndia.com here takes a close look at the two teams which will be going toe to toe on March 31st as they aim to start their respective campaigns with a a big win:
What: IPL 2023 Season Opener
Teams: Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings
Seasons Played: Gujarat Titans - 1; Chennai Super Kings - 13
Titles won: Gujarat Titans - 1; Chennai Super Kings - 4
Captains: Gujarat Titans - Hardik Pandya; Chennai Super Kings - MS Dhoni
Head Coaches: Gujarat Titans - Gary Kirsten; Chennai Super Kings - Stephen Fleming
Head to Head: Played - 2; Won by GT - 2; Won by CSK - 0
Results so far: April 17, 2022 - GT beat CSK by 3 wickets (1 ball to spare) ---- May 15, 2022 - GT won by 7 wickets (5 balls to spare)
Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja. (Pic Courtesy - CSK Twitter handle)
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.
Ben Stokes. (Pic Courtesy - CSK Twitter handle)
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.
Top performers in IPL 2022:
Gujarat Titans:
Most Runs:
1. Hardik Pandya - 487 runs in 15 matches - 4 fifties; HS - 87*
2. Shubman Gill - 483 runs in 16 matches - 4 fifties; HS - 96
3. David Miller - 481 runs in 16 matches - 2 fifties; HS - 94*
Most Wickets:
1. Mohammed Shami - 20 wickets in 16 matches; Best - 3/25
2. Rashid Khan - 19 wickets in 16 matches; Best - 4/24
3. Lockie Ferguson - 12 wickets in 13 matches; Best - 4/28
Shubman Gill and Kane Williamson. (Pic Courtesy - Gujarat Titans
Chennai Super Kings:
Most Runs:
1. Ruturaj Gaikwad - 368 runs in 14 matches - 3 fifties; HS - 99
2. Shivam Dube - 289 runs in 11 matches - 2 fifties; HS: 95*
3. Ambati Rayudu - 274 runs in 13 matches - 1 fifty; HS - 78
Most Wickets:
1. Dwayne Bravo - 16 wickets in 10 matches; Best - 3/20
2. Mukesh Choudhary - 16 wickets in 13 matches; Best - 4/46
3. Maheesh Theekshana - 12 wickets in 9 matches; Best - 4/33
Most expensive buy in the last auction:
Gujarat Titans: Kane Williamson (New Zealand) - Rs 2 Cr
Chennai Super Kings: Ben Stokes (England) - Rs 16.25 Cr
