IPL 2023, Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings, Match 1: Best memes from the game

Gujarat Titans. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL))

The first match of the eagerly-awaited 16th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) saw defending champions Gujarat Titans topple Chennai Super Kings by five wickets. Notably, the two sides crossed swords at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, March 31 in the curtain raiser.

Speaking about the match, Hardik Pandya decided to field first as he probably took into consideration the venue stats (the team batting second usually prevails). However, MS Dhoni’s Super Kings got a competitive total of 178 runs despite losing wickets at regular intervals.

Opener Ruturaj Gaikwad played an innings-defining knock but fell short of a ton as he was dismissed for 92 runs off 50 balls by pacer Alzarri Joseph. His innings included nine maximums and four boundaries and that turned out to be the highlight for the yellow outfit.

The rest of the batting unit including the likes of star all-rounders Ben Stokes and Ravindra Jadeja failed to fire as they were sent packing for seven and one runs respectively. Meanwhile, veteran pacer Mohammed Shami, Joseph, and spin wizard Rashid Khan got two wickets apiece.

While the equation was quite tricky for the defending champions, Gujarat were handed a brisk start by openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill. The duo got the boundaries with ease and touched nearly nine an over to remain steady in the chase.

Just when the duo seemed to be getting in their element, debutant Rajvardhan Hangargekar drew first blood as he got the vital scalp of Saha for 25 runs off 16 balls. Sai Sudharsan was called in as the impact substitute for injured Kane Williamson, who took the field along with Gill.

Despite the fall of Saha’s wicket, Gill continued to hoick the ball and kept the scoreboard ticking. He raised a 53-run partnership with Sudharsan to remain at par with the run rate. However, CSK eventually got three wickets in less than five overs to get back in the contest. That said, Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia took the game to the final over and snatched the game away from the four-time winners to earn their first win of the season.

Here are the Best Memes from the Match-