IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans begin title defence with five-wicket win over CSK

Shubman Gill scored a halfcentury 63 as Gujarat Titans GT registered a fivewicket win against Chennai Super Kings CSK in the opening match of the Indian Premier League IPL 2023 at Narendra Modi Stadium here on FridayShubman Gill struck 63 off 36 while Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan hammered crucial boundaries off the final over as Gujarat Titans started the defence of their title on a winning note hereCSKs Tushar Deshpande became the first Impact Player substitute in the IPL He came in place of Ambati Rayudu GTs Sai Sudharsan joined him as the second player to be picked as Impact Player coming in as a substitute for New Zealand batter Kane Williamson who had suffered an injury while fielding in the first inningsCSKs Rajvardhan Hangargekar had a dream IPL debut as he picked up three wickets for 36 runs in his four oversChasing 179 Titans had a similar start to that of CSK with just three runs off the first over Then Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha hit Deshpande for a couple of fours and a six taking 15 runs off the overDebutant Hangargekar did not have the start he expected as he overstepped and sent down a noball on the second ball of his IPL career He followed that up with a wide Saha Dispatched the short ball over midwicket with a pull for a four on a free hitHangargekar was quick to bounce back as a couple of singles later he claimed his maiden IPL wicket in his first over and dismissed Saha who got the thick edge of the bat and was caught at deep midwicket with Shivam Dube running to his right to complete a brilliant catchThe next over Gill shifted gears and punched it through cover for a boundary After a single Deshpande conceded a noball and Gill dispatched it over deep midwicket for an authoritative six on the free hit Gill then hit a couple of boundaries to Mitchell Santner in the sixth over to take the powerplay score to 65 for the loss of one wicketAfter taking singles and doubles in the seventh over Gill went for two boundaries against Santner in the eighth over The next over him and Sai Sudarshan crossed the 50run partnership for the second wicketIn the 10th over Hargargekar struck again to trap Sudarshan for 22 The latter looked for the cut but it was too wide for him He found the underedge that carried the ball behind to Dhoni Then skipper Hardik Pandya came to join Gill in the runchaseHalfway through the chase the Titans were in a comfortable position with 932 on the board Gill was in his classic style as he kept looking a big hit and he brought up his fifty off 30 ballsAlso readGill sizzles as Gujarat Titans begin IPL title defence with fivewicket win over CSKIn the 13th over Jadeja struck and bowled Pandya cheaply for 8 The GT skipper went for a sweep but missed it completelyThe next over Gill pulled through deep midwicket for a six to Deshpande After being expensive the latter got CSK the muchneeded breakthrough sending Gill back to the hut for 63 The GT opener opted for the big slap towards the deepmid wicket where Gaikwad ran in to complete a catchWith 34 needing off 24 for GT to win Chahar gave away just four off the 17th over Then Hangargekar came back in attack in the 18th over He started with a couple of dots followed by a single but conceded a massive six off the next ball by Vijay Shankar But there was a twist in the tale as Titans reviewed the ball for a wideOn the next ball Hangargekar dismissed Shankar 27 to finish his fourover quota with three wicketsWith 18 needed off 9 balls to win Rashid Khan went for a six to deep midwicket and followed that up with a boundary to bring GT back in the driving seatWith 8 needed to win off the final over Deshpande started with a wide and the next ball Rahul Tewatia dispatched the ball for a six over midoff and sealed the deal with four on the next deliveryEarlier Gaikwads scintillating 92run innings decorated with four boundaries and nine maximums helped CSK to 1787Batting first Chennai made a cautious start with just two runs coming off the first over Then Ruturaj Gaikwad hit Titans skipper Hardik Pandya for two boundaries through midwicket to pace up the inningsShami drew first blood in the form of Devon Conway to claim his 100th IPL wicket when he came to attack in the third over Conway aimed for a drive but missed it and got bowled as the ball clattered into the middle stumpThe pressure got to Shami as he sent down a noball and Moeen took full advantage of it slicing it over the longoff boundary for a flat six off the freehit He then pulled it away through midwicket for four moreIn the sixth over Pandya brought Rashid Khan into the attack After a dot ball the spinner almost got Moeen who missed a sweep and Rashid appealed for LBW which the former successfully reviewed as the ball pitched outside the leg stump He then danced down the pitch and lofted it over Rashids head for a boundaryRashid struck right back after the boundary to dismiss Moeen who looked to go over extra cover but edged it behind where Wriddhiman Saha clung onto the catch reducing CSK to 512 after the powerplayRashid claimed his second in the eighth over removing Ben Stokes who tried to punch it through cover but the ball skid sharply taking a nick to the keeper and giving another good catch to SahaThe next over Gaikwad brought up his 11th IPL fifty with a magnificent six off the bowling of Joseph Halfway through Chennai was reeling at 933In the 13th over another IPL debutant Joshua Little got his maiden wicket sending Rayudu 12 back who look to swing down the ground but was beaten on the edge and the ball clattered into the stumpsTitans bowlers put a leash on CSKs run rate with just 19 runs coming off the next three overs Thats where CSK lost momentumAfter conceding 18 runs off his first Alzarri Joseph came into the attack in the 18th over and denied Gaikwad a century as he got him on a full toss The same over he trapped Ravindra Jadeja who flicked the ball to deep midwicket for a maximum but Shankar took an easy oneIn the penultimate over after conceding a six Shami removed Shivam Dube for 19 In the final over of the inning after a couple of singles Dhoni showcased his vintage style as he dispatched the ball over deep square for a towering six leaving fans chanting Dhoni DhoniDhoni He followed it up with a four After a dot a ball Dhoni finished CSKs innings with a singleBrief scoresChennai Super Kings 1787 in 20 overs Ruturaj Gaikwad 92 Moeen Ali 23 Rashid Khan 226 Alzarri Joseph 233 lost to Gujarat Titans 1825 in 192 overs Shubman Gill 63 Vijay Shankar 27 Rajvardhan Hangargekar 336 by 5 wicketsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever