CSK vs. GT, 2023 IPL: Gujarat Titans face Chennai Super Kings, who have won four times.

Details of the match between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad: Big picture Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans, two teams that have specialized in proving skeptics and experts wrong, kick off the new IPL season in Ahmedabad at 7.30 p.m. IST (2 p.m. GMT). MS Dhoni in the corner, bright yellow; In the navy blue one, Hardik Pandya, who seems to have followed Dhoni's path to captaincy and batting.

You never know with Dhoni, but this could very well be his last IPL season. On the other hand, Hardik could become India's next full-time white-ball captain if he wins the title. The Super Kings will play five of their first eight games away from home, but an intra-squad practice session that was open to the public just an hour before the start at Chepauk is a sign of things to come at home. Last season, they had the second-worst economy rate at the death with 11.29, but at the auction, they didn't quite fix that.

As for the Titans, their main problem last season was not having a reliable anchor. They tried B Sai Sudharsan and Vijay Shankar in that role, but they have now brought in Kane Williamson, whose elbow is much better than it was last year. Williamson's presence may allow Hardik to float down the order rather than up, as he did frequently during the IPL. The addition of Shivam Mavi and Josh Little, the first Irish player selected in the IPL, to the Titans' bowling attack further strengthens them.

News about the team: The Sri Lankan duo of Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana won't be available for the Super Kings' first three games because they are playing a six-match white-ball series in New Zealand right now. However, NZC has released Devon Conway and Mitchell Santner, who is likely to start for Super Kings in Theekshana's absence and throughout the IPL. Akash Singh has taken Mukesh Choudhary's place as left-arm seamer after he was sidelined for the entire season with a back injury.

Dhoni's CEO told that he was fit despite reports on Thursday that he might miss the IPL opener due to injury.

Because he will be playing for South Africa against the Netherlands, fast bowler Sisanda Magala won't be available for the early exchanges either. In a similar vein, the Titans will be without their finisher David Miller, who will not join the team until after the Netherlands One-Day Internationals conclude on April 2.

Toss and Impact Player strategy Gujarat Titans Possibility of a bat-first XI: First, Shubman Gill; second, Wriddhiman Saha (wk); third, Kane Williamson; fourth, Matthew Wade; fifth, Hardik Pandya (captain); sixth, Rahul Tewatia; seventh, Rashid Khan; eighth, Shivam Mavi; ninth, Jayant Yadav/R Sai Kishore; tenth, Alzarri Joseph; eleventh, Mohammed Shami. A resource-maximizing option for the Titans would be to bring They may have seven bowling options, including Hardik and Tewatia, for their defense in this scenario.

XI that could bowl first: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Matthew Wade, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Shivam Mavi, 9 Jayant Yadav/R Sai Kishore, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Mohammed Shami

This lineup is the same as the bat-first lineup, but the Titans could use the Impact Player rule to bring in either Sai Sudhar

Chennai Super Kings Potential batting order:

First, Ruturaj Gaikwad; second, Devon Conway; third, Ben Stokes; fourth, Moeen Ali; fifth, Ambati Rayudu; sixth, Ravindra Jadeja; seventh, Shivam Dube; eighth, MS Dhoni (captain, third man); ninth, Mitchell Santner; tenth, Deepak Chahar; eleventh, Simarjeet Singh/Tushar Deshpande If Santner starts for the Super Ten and six bowling choices, excluding Ben Stokes. At Chepauk, Ajinkya Rahane might serve as a safety net, but it's hard to imagine him making an impact away from Chennai. Additionally, Subhranshu Senapati and Shaik Rasheed, two of the reserve batters, have not yet made their IPL debuts. In this scenario, will Super Kings even employ the Impact Player rule?

Conceivable bowl-first XI:

1 Ruturaj Gaikwad; 2 Devon Conway; 3 Ben Stokes; 4 Moeen Ali; 5 Ravindra Jadeja; 6 Shivam Dube; 7 Rajvardhan Hangargekar; 8 MS Dhoni (captain, wk); 9 Mitchell Santner; 10 Deepak Chahar; 11 Simarjeet Singh/Tushar Deshpande

Super Kings chose not to rush seam-bowling allrounder Rajvardhan Hangarg However, if they require some hit-the-deck hustle, he could make the starting XI following a successful domestic season for Maharashtra. Due to the fact that both Simarjeet Singh and Deepak Chahar are swing bowlers, the 20-year-old can dig the ball into the pitch and provide Super Kings' seam attack with something different. At the point when they bat, Super Rulers could yank Ambati Rayudu out of the seat and use him in the center request to counter Rashid Khan. He might play as an impact player in place of Simarjeet.

Important statistics show that Rayudu has dominated Rashid, scoring 79 runs off 65 balls without being run out in the Indian Premier League.

Chahar has taken 42 wickets in 58 innings at an economy rate of 7.61 in the powerplay over the past five seasons, despite missing the entire IPL 2022.

In T20 cricket, Alzarri Joseph has only given up 7.51 runs per over at the end of an over in the past year. Among right-arm seamers who have bowled at least 100 balls during that phase, it ranks second for the economy. With a 7.39 economy rate, only Anrich Nortje has outperformed Joseph in this regard, but Nortje has taken two fewer wickets than Joseph.

Pitch and conditions

The Motera has six red-soil pitches and five dark soil pitches. The ones used in the most recent T20I against New Zealand and the most recent IPL final helped seamers, and dew didn't really matter much later in the evening. Both teams' practice sessions were hampered by rain on the day of the IPL opener, but the weather is expected to be clear throughout the match.