In the first match of the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) and four-time title winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will lock horns at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 31 (Friday). 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.
Having said there were certain reports claiming that Dhoni might miss the opening match with a knee issue but Sports Tak reached out to CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan on the eve of the game and he said, “MS (Dhoni) is fine, he is playing and there is nothing to worry about at all.”
Titans without Miller, CSK will miss Magala
With South Africa scheduled to play two important international games, the Proteas players will miss the starting couple of weeks of the cash-rich tournament. 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.
GT once again the team to beat
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. With Shubman Gill in the form of his life, Rashid Khan not losing one bit of his consistency and Pandya himself having his worth weight in gold, Gujarat are once again the team to beat.
As far as GT is concerned, there is one strategic decision that has been baffling and that is release of tearaway quick Lockie Ferguson and bringing in Shivam Mavi. However, Alazarri Joseph's presence is a bit reassuring in this format.
Other than Mohammed Shami, the only other pacer of repute is the skipper himself. Yash Dayal had a good first season hasn't been in great form in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with only 2 wickets from 6 games but to be fair, he was coming back from injury. Pradeep Sangwan and Mohit Sharma are both experienced campaigners but they are now well past their prime.
Can Super Kings bury the demons of last year?
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. The addition of Ben Stokes this season adds the much-needed fore-power to the squad but to Titans' delight, the England Test captain perhaps won't bowl at least in the initial phase of the tournament.
Devon Conway, Stokes and Moeen Ali at this point look like the non-negotiable three starters in the playing eleven. A lot will depend on how well Ravindra Jadeja, Ambati Rayudu and Dhoni himself perform with willow as the Indian pace bowling unit of Deepak Chahar and Simarjeet Singh will have their task cut out. How well Dhoni can use either spinner Mahesh Theeksana or slinger Matheesa Pathirana will also go a long way establishing a pattern in selections.
Squads
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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