A crowd of approximately 100,000 fans was on hand to witness the opening game of the 2023 Indian Premier League, which featured the Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings.
Defending champions Gujarat were victorious on the day, beating Chennai by five wickets following a lavish opening ceremony at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Despite Ruturaj Gaikwad's 92 runs off 50 balls, Chennai managed only 178-7. That opened the door for Gujarat, who won with four balls remaining on 182-5.
The victory for Gujarat came in large part to Rashid Khan, who limited Chennai's English duo Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali to just 30 runs between them. Khan's exploits earned him player of the match honours, with the Afghanistan national team captain stating afterwards that he'll try to build on his star performance over the rest of the tournament.
"It gives me so much of energy for the rest of the competition," Khan said. "I try to bowl the right areas consistently and batting is all about time spent in the nets."
The occasion was dampened by a knee injury to Kane Williamson, who landed awkwardly on his right leg during his debut for Gujarat.
IPL 2023 tournament schedule
Starting on March 31, all 10 teams will play each other home and away with the final game set for May 21 when Royal Challengers Bangalore face the Gujarat Titans.
The top four teams will then battle it out for place in the final, the full schedule for the knockout stage can be found below.
IPL 2023 road to the final
- Qualifier 1: First place vs. second place
- Eliminator: Third place vs. fourth place
- Qualifier 2: Loser of Q1 vs. Eliminator winner
Dates for the above matches are yet to be confirmed, but the final will take place on Sunday, May 28.
Can I watch the IPL on DAZN?
The rest of this year's tournament will stream live on DAZN in the UK and Ireland. You can sign up for a subscription here.