On the eve of the opening game of the 16th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), heavy rains lashed Ahmedabad, the city that will host the opening game of the competition. As a result, players had to rush inside their respective dressing rooms and practice sessions came to a premature end. Cricket and IPL fans around the world would now hope that rain Gods shower some mercy on March 31 (Friday) when defending champions Gujarat Titans and four-time champions Chennai Super Kings cross swords at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
There is some good news in store if one goes by the weather prediction for Friday. According to AccuWeather.com, there are no chances of rain in Ahmedabad on Friday. Also, clear skies are predicted with minimal cloud cover while the temperature might be around 30 degrees Celsius.
Talking about the match between Gujarat and Chennai, it will be a battle between the mentor and the protege as MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya would look to outthink each other in a bid to start the cash-rich tournament on a positive note. With Gujarat playing at home, the defending champions will have a slight edge but with MS Dhoni in the other camp, one can expect the Super Kings to have good support in the stands.
Hardik's side will be without their star finisher and explosive batter David Miller while the Super Kings will miss the services of right-arm fast bowler Sisanda Magala, who was signed as a replacement for Kyle Jamieson. If you compare the two omissions, the Titans are likely to miss Miller more than CSK would miss having Magala's services.
The 2022 edition was Hardik's first year as an IPL captain and despite his flamboyance on and off the field, he did invoke a certain sense of calm in Titans' campaign. On the contrary, The Men in Yellow endured a horrendous season last year in the cash-rich tournament as they finished the season in the ninth position on the points table after winning just four out of the 14 matches played.
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (captain), Shubman Gill, Kona Bharat (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Kane Williamson, Rahul Tewatia, Abhinav Manohar, Mohammed Shami, Pradeep Sangwan, R Sai Kishore, Vijay Shankar, Sai Sudharshan, Rashid Khan, Shivam Mavi, Mathew Wade, Odean Smith, Urvil Patel, Darshan Nalkande, David Miller (not available in first 2 games), Josh Little (first match not available), Yash Dayal, Jayant Yadav, Odean Smith, Noor Ahmed, Alzarri Joseph
Chennai Super Kings: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ambati Rayudu, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, Sisanda Magala, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Dwaine Pretorius, Ahay Mandal, Nishant Sindhu, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Mitchell Santner, Subharnshu Senapati, Simarjeet Singh, Matheesa Pathirana, Mahesh Theekshana, Bhagath Verma, Prashant Solanki, Shaikh Rasheed, Tushar Deshpande.
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