Gujarat Titans will look to Hardik Pandya to supply inspirational management as the defending champion takes on four-time winner Chennai Super Kings in the opening fixture of the sixteenth version of the IPL at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, March 31.
| Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI
Chennai Super Kings will hope its talismanic skipper M.S. Dhoni’s strapped knee isn’t a priority because it begins its marketing campaign towards Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, March 31.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
Ravindra Jadeja could be a key to Chennai Super Kings’ fortunes.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
It would stand Gujarat Titans in good stead if Shubman Gill can flex his muscle tissues and get going from the opening match of IPL 16.
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI
If Chennai Super Kings is Indian Premier League royalty, Gujarat Titans is the gifted and bold prince desperate to burnish its credentials.
On Friday at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the four-time winner will take on the defending champion in one of the event’s newest and fascinating rivalries.
For CSK, a assured begin is of paramount significance to banish the recollections from final yr when it completed ninth out of 10 groups. For the Titans, it is going to be its first brush with dealing with excessive expectations, for it’s now not the hunter however the hunted.
In-form Jadeja
A match and firing Ravindra Jadeja is a giant plus for the M.S .Dhoni-led CSK, and with the captaincy fiasco of the earlier season behind him, the all-rounder shall be keen to indicate his actual value in all three departments.
The addition of Ben Stokes provides the facet a leading edge and the Englishman, who has up to now probably not set the event on hearth, shall be keen to depart a mark.
But CSK should do with out left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary – one of the workforce’s higher bowlers in a disappointing IPL 2022 – who has been dominated out as a result of of a again harm.
For the Titans, South African David Miller, a standout participant final yr, will miss the event opener as he’s taking part in the ODI collection towards the Netherlands.
Rich expertise
But Titans is a star-studded workforce, properly serviced by Hardik Pandya’s mature captaincy, Shubman Gill’s brilliance and Kane Williamson’s intelligence and guile.
On Thursday night, heavens opened for a quick whereas, slicing quick the groups’ observe however bringing some much-needed aid from the discomforting humidity. Friday, although, appears to be like clear, as the IPL is about to embrace an all-new world with most of the outdated comforts firmly intact.
“We are under no illusions about what lies ahead… there are challenges as far as travel is concerned and we are playing in front of a home crowd, which I will describe as an opportunity. ”Vikram SolankiGujarat Titans Director of Cricket
“Every individual is improving, bowlers are coming out with different deliveries. New rules are coming up and I am not sure how it’s going to look. But cricket needs to change and we want to see improvement. So we are really excited and looking forward.”Ajinkya Rahane on the evolution of IPL by the final 15 years
