GT vs CSK: Rahul Tewatia & Rashid Khan led Gujarat to the season opener victory over Chennai after the brilliance from Shubman Gill

The Narendra Modi Stadium witnessed the crazy opener between Gujarat Titans & Chennai Super Kings. With a lavish opening ceremony & with a great attendance of people in the stands, IPL 2023 season kicked off in style. Gujarat Titans clinched the victory by five wickets in the very last over of the match. Ruturaj Gaikwad's inning went in vain after the batting brilliance from Shubman Gill tore apart Chennai. Although Gujarat struggled during the final stages of their chase, somehow they managed to get away with a positive result, just like a winning team always does. Read the Match Report of the GT vs CSK IPL 2023 opener and share your thoughts in the comments.

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GT vs CSK: IPL 2023, Match Report

Gujarat Titans won the toss & decided to bowl first. Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad opened for CSK while Mohammed Shami opened the bowling for GT. Ruturaj gave a great start to CSK but Conway looked pretty much uncomfortable. He lost his wicket very early as Shami's delivery completely shattered the stumps. Shami scalped his 100th IPL wicket which brought Moeen Ali to the crease. Josh Little became the first player from Ireland to bowl in the IPL. Moeen Ali & Rututaj settled in and helped CSK to boost their inning after a slow start at the office. Rashid Khan dismissed Ali in his very first over which put CSK under pressure once again.

CSK's new recruit, Ben Stokes came to the pitch while Ruturaj continued his hammering inning. Unlike, other times, Ruturaj looked like a big hitter against the GT bowling side. He is a player who always relies on timing & placement, & he hit some sixes just relying on timings, perfect timings & placement. Ruturaj completed his half-century, the first among any player in the IPL 2023 season in just 23 deliveries. Stokes got caught behind due to Rashid's change of pace which he completely misunderstood and Wriddhiman Saha made no mistake behind the stumps.

Kane Williamson got injured while stopping a boundary line six. He saved two runs for his team but sustained an injury during that effort. Josh Little scalped his first wicket in the IPL as he bowled Ambati Raydu for 12 runs. That wicket was so crucial as it completely changed the course of the game. The Run rate dropped from 9.5 per over to 8 per over.

A classy & mature inning from the CSK's Young man:

Dube struggled a lot while Gaikwad tried his best to carry the momentum. Gaikwad smashed 9 sixes while scoring 92 runs in 50 deliveries. While trying for a big hit, he mistimed a full toss from Joseph and Gill took a brilliant catch at the long on. Shivam Dube couldn't help himself or the team as Shami dismissed him in the 19th over. Joseph removed Jadeja as he got no time to settle in. CSK lost their 4 crucial wickets in the range of 40 runs. Skipper Dhoni charged Josh Little in the last over with boundaries and CSK reached 178 runs after the end of 20 overs. Shami, Joseph & Rashid Khan took 2 wickets each while the debutant Little got a single wicket.

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GT vs CSK:

Gill & Saha led Gujarat to a brilliant start

Shubman Gill is in red-hot form right now & he delivered in the very first game. Wriddhiman Saha started with some classy boundaries after a tight start on the first over. Saha knew where to cause the trouble and he delivered pretty well. CSK used the Impact Player option to bring Tushar Deshpande in for Ambati Raydu while bowling. It's just like the substitution in Football. Hangergekar drew the first blood as Saha departed for 25 runs. Gill continued his inning with vintage cricketing shots which impressed the fans & the commentators as well.

GT brought Sudharsan for Kane Williamson in the same way CSK did. Sai Sudharsan accompanied Gill really well but Hangargekar gave the blow to GT once again. Although Gill maintained the run rate pretty well, it was also concerning for them as they didn't have a too strong & deep batting lineup like the other teams. Skipper Hardik Pandya departed for 8 runs as Jadeja introduced himself into the game. His wicket brought Vijay Shankar onto the pitch in the 13th over with lots of work to be left behind.

Shubman Gill completed his well-deserved half-century in just 30 deliveries. He showed his class & dominance through his shot selections & body gestures. He looked confident and confidently so, he pulled the team in his back with Vijay Shankar. Eventually, he had to return to the dugout as the impact player finally got the breakthrough for CSK. Gill returned after a brilliant inning of 63 runs in 36 deliveries with 6 fours & 3 sixes.

Rahul Tewatia & Rashid Khan led Gujarat Titans to their Season opener Victory over CSK

Vijay Shankar hit some boundaries but Hangargekar took his wicket in the 18th over and Gujarat came into serious trouble. Tewatia wasn't looked in good touch as he struggled against the bowling attack of CSK. GT needed 23 runs in the last 2 overs and Rashid Khan (10*) hit big hits to Deepak Chahar's final over of the spell and made it 8 runs in the final over. Rahul Tewatia (15*) opened his hands at the right moment and finished the match in the final over in style. Gujarat Titans clinched the victory over Chennai Super Kings by five wickets & four deliveries to spare.