Here we are, finally it is time for the IPL once again. The first match up of the season will be between last years champions Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The 2023 IPL season has been long awaited and we will already be in for a treat in the first match. Read our latest updates for the IPL match prediction right here.
Gujarat Titans Team News
Debuting just last season, GT also ended up winning the title in the first try. Whilst GT parted ways with several players from their first title winning season including the likes of Dominic Drakes, Jason Roy, Varun Aaron and Gurkeerat Singh, they also added a number of very strong players to their squad. Especially the addition of New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, who was acquired for INR2 crores at this seasons IPL auction as well as the all-rounder from the West Indies Odean Smith.
Gujarat Titans is the bookmaker favourite to take the title once again this season.
Gujarat Titans Predicted Starting Eleven
- Shubham Gill
- Matthew Wade ✈
- Kane Williamson ✈
- Hardik Pandya (C)
- Sai Sudarshan
- Rahul Tewatia
- Rashid Khan ✈
- Sai Kishore
- Alzarri Joseph ✈
- Mohammed Shami
- Yash Dayal
For GT to take the win Shubham Gill and Matthew Wade should ensure top-order stability. Capitalizing on the powerplay overs and build a strong foundation for the middle-order. With Shubham Gill having scored a double hundred for India recently, it should be anticipated that GT gets off to a great start.
Being supported by superstars Kane Williamson and captain Hardik Pandya in the middle-order, GT should be able to continue their great start to their innings.
Furthermore, it will be intersting to see whether 21-year old Sai Sudarshan can continue his rise in the ranks.
On the bowling side both Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore should show their prowesses of their bowling skills.
Chennai Super Kings Team News
Unlike Gujarat Titans who are coming straight from a championship season, the 4-time champions CSK are coming back from a poor season, ending 9th. The addition of Ben Stokes to the roster should however set CSK down the right path and improve last seasons poor result.
Chennai Super Kings Predicted Starting Eleven
- Devon Conway ✈
- Ruturaj Gaikwad
- Ben Stokes ✈
- Ambati Raydu
- Shivam Dube
- Moeen Ali ✈
- MS Dhoni (C)
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Deepak Chahar
- Maheesh Theekshana ✈
- Simarjeet Singh
Obviously the opening batting partnership between Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad will be an important key for CSK to establish a great foundation to their innings. With Ben Stokes as the third batter in line, CSK might need to score plenty of runs to start off their innings to have a realistic chance of winning the match.
CSK does have some solid batters down the line, but they might not be as strong as GT overall.
It will be interesting to see if MS Dhoni can keep his team in check for a very strong opponent to start off their season.
GT vs. CSK Win Probability
GT enters the match as the bookmakers favourite, and with a very strong team lined up, they are also our favourites for the match-up. Especially, the very strong batting line-up should set them slightly apart CSK, who must not be underestimated as well.
Stadium & Weather
The match will be played at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. It is a fairly large pitch compared to most of the IPL stadiums which will favour the bowlers.
The match starts at 19:30 Indian Standard Time, and the temperature at the start of the game is projected at 29 degrees celsius. No rain is expected so we should see more or less even conditions throughout the match. The dew factor might have a small impact on the game however, and the winner of the toss would most likely choose to bat first.
H2H
Gujarat Titans won both matches between the two teams last season, so they will feel confident going into this matchup.
IPL Standings
Odds Comparison
Our GT vs. CSK Prediction
It will always be hard to predict the winner of the first match of the IPL season. However, our pick will be for Gujarat Titans to take a narrow win in a match that is not expected to be high nor low scoring. We predict that Shubham Gill will start out with a lot of runs, being backed up by Kane Williamson later in the innings. And with Rashid Khan bowling for GT he should be able to keep the CSK to a lower amount of runs.
It will be interesting to see whether the new rule changes to the IPL will have any impact on the game though.
If you are not yet sure about what betting site to use you can check out what the best cricket betting sites in India are.
Live Stream
Votes
