The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 opening ceremony witnessed the mesmerising singing of Arijit Singh and stunning performances from actresses Tamannah Bhatia and Rashmika Mandanna at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, Ahmedabad.
The IPL 2023 opening ceremony started off with Arijit singing 'Ae vatan' from Alia Bhatt starrere 'Raazi'. He also sang popular songs like 'Channa Mereya' from Ranbir Kapoor starrer Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. He also thrilled the crowd with two of the latest songs 'Tere Pyaar Mein' and ‘Ek Baar Hi Kiya' from recently released 'Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar'. CSK skipper MS Dhoni was seen mesmerised by Arijit's singing as well. He completed a lap across the stadium as well and sang ‘India Jeetega’ from 83.
Tamannah wore a silver shimmery body suit and danced to electrifying dance numbers, including Tum Tum, Lover, Oo Antava, Tune Mari Entriyan, Chogada. She wore a silver shimmery body suit.
It was followed by Rashmika’s performance. She was in traditional attire. She danced to numbers like Saami Saami from Push 1. She finished her performance with SS Rajamouli's film RRR's Oscar-winning, Naatu Naatu.
After the performances, the two captains Dhoni and Hardik Pandya were called on stage. The toss took place at 7:10 PM. The defending champions Gujarat Titans’ (GT) captain Pandya won the toss and opted to field first. He handed debut cap to Ireland’s Joshua Little.
“It's always good to play here. New start, new season, quite exciting. Almost everyone in the country has got motivation from him (Dhoni). Been a fan and admirer of him. Want boys to enjoy it. Result will take care of itself. It's different - I've left it in the coach. Ashu pa (Ashish Nehra) works all night on what needs to be done. I don't know (combination for today),” Pandya said after winning the toss.
“Looks a good wicket and I don't think it will change. Don't know if there will be dew because it rained last night. You want to play in front of people. This stadium is twice the capacity of other stadiums. Fantastic atmohsphere. Preparation was good. We assembled quite early. It's a luxury to have (impact player). It becomes slightly easy to take the decision because you can use it at any time. Influence of allrounder has become slightly less because of the rule,” Dhoni said at the coin toss.
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