MONITORING (SW) – The IPL 2023 kicked off on Friday, with Gujarat Titans securing another victory over Chennai Super Kings.
The defending champions defeated the MS Dhoni-led side by 5 wickets. While Shubaman Gill’s blistering knock played a crucial role in the GT getting home, it was the all-around skill of Rashid Khan that was picked as the ultimate match-winning effort, reported Republic news.
Rashid Khan delivered with both bat and bowl to yet again emerge as the protagonist of the Gujarat Titans franchise. With the ball, Khan exhibited excellent figures of 2 for 26 after 4 overs. And with the bat, the 24-year-old played a cameo at the end that released the pressure and turned the chase look like an easy win on the papers for Gujarat.
Rashid Khan, who plays league cricket in many parts of the world, is widely popular, and thus his effort in the opening game of IPL 2023 brought out reactions on social media from different users. Netizens were evidently impressed with Rashid Khan’s player of the match display. Here are a few of the many reactions.
Batting first, Chennai Super Kings got off to a good start as Ruturaj Gaikwad took charge of Gujarat Titans’ bowling. The CSK opener anchored the innings while getting intermittent support from other batsmen. Gaikwad’s brilliant knock of 92 off 50 balls, took Chennai to a total of 178.
In reply, GT had an equally blazing start with Wriddhiman Saha firing on all cylinders. Just like CSK’s innings, the Titans were also anchored by their opener, however, in place of Gaikwad it was Shubman Gill. Gill hit some classic shots to get to his 50 and was looking to take the side home.
But after adding a fiery 63 on the board, Gill perished trying to clear the boundary, the score at that juncture was 138 for 4 after 15 overs. Shubman’s dismissal did not ring any bells of trouble in the Gujarat camp and in the end, the familiar duo of Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia chased the total with 4 balls to spare. GT registered a 5-wicket win over CSK.
