IPL: Gujarat beats Chennai

Shubman Gill eclipsed Ruturaj Gaikwad’s high-quality knock with a dazzling half-century as Gujarat Titans began their title defence with a convincing five-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in the IPL opener here on Friday. Gaikwad was all class in his 92 off 50 balls before Titans pulled things back in the middle overs to limit Chennai Super Kings to 178 for seven after opting to bowl first in front of a near capacity crowd at the world’s largest cricket stadium here. CSk skipper Dhoni said, ‘We all knew there will be dew. We could have done a bit more with the batsman ship. Ruturaj (Gaikwad) was brilliant, he times the ball well and he’s a pleasure to watch. The way he picks his options, it is pleasing to watch. I think it’s important for the youngsters to step in. I think Raj (Hangargekar) has pace and he will get better with time. Think the bowlers will get better, a no-ball is something that’s in your control, so you need to work on that. I felt two left armers will be a better option so I went ahead with them. Shivam was an option, but I felt comfortable with the bowlers overall.’ GT skipper Hardik said, ‘Obviously very happy. We did put ourselves in a difficult situation but Rahul and Rashid did very well. We were happy at the mid-innings because at one point they looked like getting 200, but we got those couple of wickets to pull things back. Having this Impact rule makes my job difficult. I have too many options, and because of this someone will bowl less. This game I realised bowling hard lengths was the way to go, that’s why Alzarri bowled late. Having Rashid is a real asset, he will get you wickets and get you some runs late down the order as well. But today my shot and Shubman’s shot wasn’t the best, we need to do better to ensure we don’t put the responsibility on these guys lower down. MoM Rashid Khan said, So happy to get this crucial Man of the Match. Will give me a lot of the energy for the rest of the competition. I try to do my best in all three formats, and give i