CSK vs GT, 1st Match at Ahmedabad, IPL, Mar 31 2023 - Match Result

12.05am The opening match started on a Friday, but it is Saturday by the time the presentations are done. not quite clinical, but still a comfortable enough win for the defending champions Gujarat Titans. That's all we have for you tonight, but we will be back before you even get a chance to miss us as tomorrow is a double header. See you then.

Midnight The Player of the Match is Rashid Khan. He says: "So happy to get the Man of the Match. Gives me so much of energy for the rest of the competition. Bowling to the leftie was hard but the more I keep it tight, it is better. I had it in my mind to keep it simple. Just bowl the right areas consistently. Batting is all about time spent in the nets. The kind of opportunity and confidence in me by the coaching staff and the captain does give me a lot of batting time in the nets. It helps me in the middle."

11.55pm We will soon be into day of this match with the presentation not yet done. Hardik Pandya says: "I am obviously very happy, but we did put ourselves in a difficult position. We were very happy with 178 because at one point they looked like going past 200. But we kept getting wickets. Having the impact rule makes my job very difficult. There are too many options. Because of it, someone will always bowl less or late. My shot and Shubman's shot put the team in a difficult position. We have some standards inside the dressing room. We have to finish the games, and not Rash and Rahul all the time."

11.45pm "We were slightly short," says MS Dhoni, the losing captain. "Another 15-20 runs would have been good. We all know there would be a little bit of dew. Also it was a 7.30pm start so the ball holds on a little early on. Also we could have batted properly in the middle overs as opposed to trying to muscle the ball. Rutu is a pleasure to watch. He has groomed himself very well, and makes the eight decisions under pressure. We can't afford to bowl no-balls. That is something in our control."

11.38pm That's a pretty comfortable win for the defending champions, GT. Led by Rashid Khan with the ball, they restricted CSL to 20 short of a par score, and then chased it down fairly easily. In the end, two blows from Rashid Khan turned a possibly tight finish to a walk in the park in the last over. The win will be extra sweet because they couldn't use their Impact Player properly thanks to the injury to Kane Williamson when fielding. The pace of the match hasn't been great with more than four hours taken

Eight required off the last over. Deshpande to bowl it. Super Over, anyone? Mid-off, short third and fine leg up in the circle. Deshpande goes around the wicket

Two a ball now. Rashid Khan is your new batter

slower ball into the pitch, beats his attempt to cut

Who bowls this over? Chahar, I eould say

Hangargekar to bowl out. Chahar and Deshpande might bowl 19 and 20

Anish Rijal: "Very long tail of GT, these two needs to take into 19th over with not more than 20 to get. "

Chahar is back by the way. Around the wicket