Titans win
Super Kings had a lot going for them. Ruturaj Gaikwad was batting with incredible ease. All he had to do was extend his shots - the defence went for six down the ground, flicks went for six over midwicket. He finished with 92 off 50 balls.
But around him, there was very little. It became especially dire in the middle and final overs where Ambati Rayudu and Shivam Dube in particular were shut down with the high pace of Alzarri Joseph and the left-arm angle of Josh Little.
That phase of play dragged Super Kings from a total above 200 to only 178.
Dhoni hits it on the nail as he assess their batting performance. "We tried to muscle the ball a bit too much. Proper batting would've worked. Ruturaj is a pleasure to watch,. He makes the right decisions under pressure. I feel over the years, the way he has groomed himself, the way he picks his options"
TItans' batting is top heavy. And WIlliamson was injured in the field. So Gill and Hardik were big wickets. CSK took them with time enough to squeeze the game.
But once again, their bowling allrounders, Tewatia and Rashid, rose to the occasion and in style too.
9 Gujarat Titans won nine of the ten matches while chasing in the IPL. Eight of those nine wins were completed in the last over, with Rahul Tewatia scoring the winning runs in four matches.
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The end
First ball of the last over is called wide outside off and Dhoni isn't interested in reviewing it.
TItans need 7 off 6
Second ball is launched into the long-off boundary. Sublime hit. He's no slogger, Tewatia. Has power even when he goes off side with a straight bat. Titans did this all season last time round. Their bowling allrounders hitting the crucial runs at the end. Tewatia nails one down the ground for four and stands absolutely still, his arms spread out wide, celebrating yet another moment that describes his singular skill. Batting at the highest pressure and still scoring boundaries
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Titans need eight off six
Chahar bowled a brilliant 17th over. Full of changes of pace and variations in length.
His 19th over is less special. Bowls length that Rashid can whack around.
Titans go into the final over needing eight of six balls.
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Dhoni injury scare
He came into the game with a cloud over his knee.
He is worried about it after diving to his right to try and save some leg byes.
He can't. Goes for four. And all CSK fans have their hearts in their mouths as the physio comes out to check on him.
Seems okay. They carry on.
AND RASHID KHAN MONSTERS A SIX TO PUT TITANS AHEAD OF THE GAME. FIRST BALL SIX FROM A BIT OF AN UNDERRATED SIX HITTER
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Death overs
Chahar's 17th over. Ends with Titans needing 30 off 18
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Hangargekar's 18th over. There was a DRS for a wide as well. It's a slower ball. Full toss going very close to the wrong side of the wide line. But third umpire Virender Sharma notes how Shankar's front foot was well outside leg stump so that is taken into account as well and it is called not a wide. And next ball, Shankar is out. Outstanding catch by Santner, running back to take a skier, it almost evaded him, but he adjusted his body position at the last and took it with both hands. TItans need 23 off 12
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Chase gets tense
Here's Matt Roller: Might only be for one match but quite a big shift in strategy for Chennai if Chahar is being marked as a death bowler this year. Has only bowled 9% of his deliveries in IPL at the death in previous seasons - and 77% in the powerplay
He bowls the 17th for just four runs. Titans need 30 off 18 now. Shankar 21 off 18. Tewatia 3 off 6.
Huuuuuuge over now from Hangargekar. But first he gets some advice from Chahar. Dhoni has a fly slip in for Tewatia. Simon Doull nails it on commentary when he deduces off the field that Hangargekar will be bowling wide outside off
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Gill's gone!
CSK impact player Tushar Deshpande has picked up a HUUUUUUUUGE wicket!
Titans still need 41 off 30 balls. It's not impossible, but now they have to do it with Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan
A bit surprising that Gill went big once more immediately after hitting a drool-worthy bottom-hand half-flick half-swat over midwicket for six. That ball had so much power on it, it burst through Ruturaj Gaikwad's hands on the boundary.
The next shot is overkill. He lost his timing. And his wicket.
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Titans no-ball review
We have a player's review for a no-ball. The very first in men's T20 cricket.
It was the last ball of the 14th over. A bouncer that Gill top-edges to the boundary.
They've already got four runs, but they think they might have a chance at another, and maybe a free hit. It's a gamble. And replays show the ball wasn't above shoulder height. So it isn't a no-ball and Titans lose one of their reviews
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Jadeja gets Hardik
This could be big.
Titans' middle order isn't great.
They still have Gill and he's on 50-plus.
And the required rate is well within range, but this wicket keeps CSK in it.
Here's Vijay Shankar at No. 5. Equation: 65 off 42. Dhoni's making another big move. He's brought back Hangargekar, their most successful bowler today, for his third over. Searching for the wicket, perhaps matching 140kph pace with Vijay Shankar, that breaks them further into the TItans middle order
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Gill levelled up
Gill has levelled alllllll the way up.
You know how I know?
Coz he just came down the track to Ravindra Jadeja, bowling 100kph darts, and calmly launched him over extra coer for six.
Imagine how quick his feet have to be to do that. He didn't premeditate. He Pujara'd Jadeja. There's no turn off this pitch. CSK's spinners are finding life very difficult. Gill has 50 off 30 balls.
Weird feeling. The guy wearing No. 7 in the opposition dictating a game against MS Dhoni
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Hardik+Gill
I know this game's biggest draw is MSD, but this is a close second, watching Hardik batting with Gill.
Titan are 90 for 2 and there's still a good 10 overs of this game left
Hardik and Gill have similar builds and they play similar shots, just that Hardik's come off looking a lot more power-focused because of his bottom hand. Neither man is fun to bowl to. Hardik is ace against spin. Gill is boss against pace. CSK will need to separate these two quickly
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Santner leakiing runs
Santner doesn't normally get hit for boundaries a lot.
His standard length is flat. But he normally skids off the pitch. So the ball comes lower than the batter anticipates. So they're never really under the ball.
Here in Ahmedabad, there's good bounce off the pitch. So Santner's trusty darts into the body are both slowing down and sitting up, allowing left-hander Sudharsan especially to get underneath and find elevation.
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There was a loft over cover. Now a pull over square leg. Poor Santi. He barely gets a game in a full-strength CSK side. Now when he gets one, he's on a pitch where his strength is negated
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Gill on song
Two no-balls in less than five overs. Not great cricket from a team defending a below-par total.
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Meanwhile, Gill is already looking majestic. The six off the free hit is jaw-dropping good. Deshpande looks to go yorker and he's not far off, but Gill is deep in his crease, that allows him the chance to make the most of things when the bowler misses his mark even slightly. Stays so very still until the very last moment and then almost helicopters the ball for six over midwicket.
That stillness at the crease, and then, a split second later, the power release. Gill is incredible. He's gone from 9 off 8 to 21 off 13.
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Hangargekar's first impression
There's a bit of Lance Klusener about Rajvardhan Hangarkekar's bowling action.
He's desperate to bowl at high pace. He's hitting the late 130s and early 140s. Started his IPL career with a yorker that nearly produced a wicket.
CSK know they need to go all out here. And they're trusting a youngster to do that, like they trusted Gaikwad a few years ago. It's rare but it happens. And he does come up with a wicket.
Wriddhi Saha is gone. He's done his job though. This is his role. Scoring quickly in the powerplay, but more importantly, never wasting balls. Gone for 25 off 16. And because he was able to get off the blocks like that, Gill can just focus on playing through the innings. He's looking glorious, even though he's just 9 off 8. Great catch to take Stokes out. Now giving the team a decent start. Saha's done his job
In comes Titans' impact sub, Sai Sudharsan at No. 3, presumably for Kane Williamson.
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Deshpande Impact Sub
He comes in for Ambati Rayudu
Deepak Chahar has the new ball. He's getting movement, like Titans did early on. CSK will be desperate for early wickets. They'll know Williamson is not 100%. Getting into their middle order quickly will make them feel a lot better.
Except Titans made a mockery of that thinking last season with Tewatia and Rashid routinely making useful contributions down the order
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Fan poll
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CSK vs the short ball
Gaikwad 43 off 21, seven dots, four sixes, three fours, strike rate 205
Rest of CSK 39 off 37, 17 dots, two fours, two sixes, one wicket, strike rate 105
Clear gulf in quality. CSK finish on 178 for 7. They looked good for 200+
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Titans on top
Brilliant work by the Titans. They sensed a chance with Rayudu and Dube. They went high pace with Joseph. Then the left-arm angle with Little, even though he'd had a tough night. CSK won the early phase of play, but their middle-overs power outage might turn out to be the most decisive phase of play.
This is Joseph's spell tonight.
Got taken apart by Gaikwad to start.
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But then... Second over
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Third over
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Fourth over. Gaikwad and Jadeja gone
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Review for no-ball
But its from the umpire. Not the batter.
Gaikwad is the wicket. He's 92. He'd just changed his bat. He gets a full toss which he pops to long-on running forward. Replays
"Ball is dipping," says the third umpire. "Can you rock and roll and freeze when the batter touches the ball. Ball is clearly below the waist." Hawk-Eye helps out here. They draw a line on screen based on the predicted path of the ball and it ends up below his waist where he makes contact.
So Gaikwad has to go. Great innings. Here's Jadeja. CSK are in danger of wasting his innings. They're only 151 for 5 and its already the 18th over. Dhoni might not even get time to bat the way this is going... Scratch that. Jadeja's gone. Caught on the boundary. He had to go for the big hit. He had to try and compensate for the slowdown caused by Rayudu and Dube.
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Gaikwad or bust
During middle overs (7 -16):
Ruturaj Gaikwad - 58 off 31 balls (7 sixes, 1 four)
Rest of CSK batters - 27 off 29 balls (1 six, 1 four)
Rest of CSK batters - 27 off 29 balls (1 six, 1 four)
Dube is 9 off 13. This is retired out territory
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CSK slowing down
35 Runs for CSK in the last five overs. They are now 125 for 4 in 14.
If we can keep them under 200, I think it's gettable, says Gary Kirsten from the Titans camp and it's hard to disagree with him.
After the early movement, it's been fun to bat out there.
CSK's last boundary came off the third ball of the 13th over. Since then, they've only scored 13 runs off 15 balls. They also lost the wicket of Rayudu, who took too many balls (12 off 12) and now Dube is making the same mistake. (4 off 9). Titans' bowling pace and bowling short at both these batters has worked really well for them. Good match up T20 cricket.
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Kane Williamson is down
It's his right knee. He looks in a lot of pain.
It all began with him trying to track down a flat hit from Gaikwad at deep square leg.
It's going for six. Until Williamson intercepts it, running to his right, leaps several feet in the air, takes the catch with both hands, but has to toss the ball away because he's already crossing the boundary rope. He saves the six but with all his concentration on the ball, he can't balance himself as he is coming down.
When Williamson hit the ground, his right foot was in front of where his body was going because of all the momentum. As a result of that, all his weight went down a straight line onto his knee and then had nowhere else to go. And the knee buckled. If he had landed properly, his foot would have been in a straight line with his knee and it would've absorbed the stress.
Williamson doesn't show a lot of emotion on the field. But here his face is twisted in pain. If he'd caught it, it would've been like that de Villiers catch. He needs help walking off. It's probably unlikely that he'll be able to bat now. Might even be forced out of the tournament for a while...
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The six fest
Ashish Nehra has been wandering all over the boundary edge, having little chats with his players. But right now they aren't quite having the effect he would want.
The big boundaries in Ahmedabad are being cleared at will by the CSK batters. They're 114 for 3 in the 12th over. Gaikwad is 70 off 34 with EIGHT sixes. He's sending every fourth ball, almost, into orbit
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Gaikwad fifty
Shots like these are the reasons why CSK trusted him early when it felt like the IPL was a level beyond him.
Alzarri Joseph is the leader of the West Indies bowling attack. He has the best figures in IPL history. He comes in and he's sent packing for six over square leg and all it took was a flick of the wrist.
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Gaikwad trusts his method completely. He never hits the ball hard. Its all timing. That means, sometimes he starts really really slow. But he backs himself to pick up the pace once he's set. He backs himself to pierce the gaps, because of how comfortable he is facing pace and spin alike - he kept picking Rashid's googlies without so much as breaking a sweat - and he's also happy to play in the air. Extensions of simple defence that somehow have enough to go for sixes.
This is a player at ease with himself. This is a player whose team also believes in him. This is a player who will dominate for years.
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The Match up works!
3 times Rashid has taken Stokes out in T20s, before tonight, giving up only 15 runs in 21 balls.
He leaked a boundary today, but soon after that, he took out England's big gun with considerable help from Wriddhiman Saha. Outstanding catch behind the wicket, staying low and adjusting to a bottom edge
In comes Rayudu
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Gaikwad's day?
Gaikwad has been guilty of starting IPL seasons slowly. In fact, he only made 5, 20 and 2 runs in his first three innings in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Here's, he's 36 off 16. Been especially severe on the non-specialist bowlers - Hardik (22 off 8) and Little (11 off 3)
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Rashid vs Moeen
The over started with an lbw appeal that looked straight, but Moeen got a glove on it.
Then another lbw appeal, which umpire Khalid gives out, which Moeen overturns, and then whacks the next ball for an imperious boundary down the ground.
Moeen is CSK's spin-hitter. Especially with balls turning into him. This is the role he played to great effect when they won the title in 2021.
But the problem with Moeen is that once he starts going, he refuses to stop. Even when he sees a ball that is designed to take away his power. The wide, loopy googly. Rashid was daring him to chase it. Moeen did and ended up nicking off to the keeper. Brilliant bowling. Smart bowling. And of course, simple cricket.
1 Rashid's first powerplay wicket in IPL since 2021. Bowled six wicketless overs in the powerplay last season
Here's Big Ben at No. 4 for CSK
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Impact of Impact Player
Here's another tangible impact of the Impact Player.
Shami was the IPL's highest wicket taker in the Powerplay last year. Without this new rule, Titans might have stopped his first spell at two overs to save him for the death.
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Now, they have Joseph and Dayal and even Rashid Khan to do that job so Shami gets a third over in the phase he's best at. Doesn't actually go well, but it maximises the talent you have at your disposal to make a bigger impact.
Meanwhile, CSK are 46 for 1 in five overs with plenty of firepower in the shed. Feels like time for Rashid... and yep, here he is, and first ball he comes up with an lbw appeal against Moeen.
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Little goes big
A bit of nerves. A bit of wanting to impose himself. A bit of knowing that he's representing Ireland here and he wants to make a lasting impression. All of it combines and messes with Josh Little and his first two balls of the IPL
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Picked the ground guy to intimidate, Gaikwad is boss against short ball and pace. That six was off a swivel pull that was somewhere between Rohit and Inzy on the lazy elegance scale
Also, it feels like CSK thing. Just like their captain, they know newbies are vulnerable
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Shami's 100th IPL wicket
But at the other end, Mohammed Shami has picked up his 100th wicket of the IPL
It's the perfect ball. Pitched up, from around the wicket, to sucker the batter into a drive. Then swinging in through the gap between bat and pad.
Outstanding bowling from an outstanding bowler. He's one the best with the new ball. This would've been on the check list given to him from the Titans management. Get us early wickets. And boom, he's got them a big one.
There's a little bit in it for the new ball. The pitch doesn't have a lot of pace in it, but there is movement. Conway was trying to force the pace, looking to loft a ball that was perhaps too full for him to get under. He was trying to up the ante without quite figuring the pitch out. Gaikwad at the other end hasn't panicked. Conway has.
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Gaikwad away
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Ruturaj Gaikwad against pace is just heart eyes emoji.
He seems to have so much time to play his shots. These boundaries came off Hardik Pandya, so he's not express. But the way Gaikwad got in position shows just how comfortable he is with pace coming at him
The first shot had no followthrough. He judged the length early - short and at the body - and just gave it a sharp bottom-hand tap through midwicket.
The second was a glide through cover. It actually looked like he was set up for the shot too early, and just adjusted with his hands and opened the face of the bat to pick the gap.
This guy is going to be a big wicket, especially when Super Kings go out on the road, playing on pitches with pace and bounce on it, like here or Kolkata or Mumbai or Bengaluru.
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Toss: Titans choose to bowl
Its different, Hardik says of the Impact Player. That's why I've left it on the coach. Ashu pa has been working on it all night. [Your combination for today] I don't know! I just know I'm part of the team!
Its a luxury to have, Dhoni says of the Impact Player. A lot will depend on a team's bench strength. To some extent the influence of an allrounder has gone slightly less. Conway, Moeen, Stokes and Santner are in the team.
CSK 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Ambati Rayudu, 9 Mitchell Santner, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Rajvardhan Hangargekar
Subs: Shaik Rasheed, Subhranshu Senapati, Tushar Deshpande, Ajinkya Rahane, Nishant Sindhu
With Super Kings batting right now, they'll likely use Impact Player to take out someone like Rayudu or even Stokes for a bowler in the second innings. Maybe Deshpande?
Titans Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Kane Williamson, Hardik Pandya (c), Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Josh Little, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph.
Subs: Sai Sudharan, Jayant Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Abishek Manohar, KS Bharat
So Titans' impact sub might be Manohar for lower-middle order firepower in the chase, assuming everything is going well. But if they suffer a collapse, they might opt for someone like Bharat or Sudharsan. Four specialist quicks in the XI, including the first Ireland player of the IPL, Josh Little. Rashid Khan the only spinner. Tells you how they're reading the pitch
The first signs of how the Impact Player has begun to influence the game is the toss - there are tons of people there in the middle right now, some running team sheets out to their captains. Match referee Javagal Srinath is also in there, part of the discussions. Dhoni and Hardik are lining up now, with two team sheets in hand, laughing their heads off.
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Fan Poll
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Hardik's time
I first saw Hardik Pandya in a random Ranji Trophy game in 2015. He made 24 off 71.
He seemed to keep defending every ball, even though he looked so awkward doing it. Well now we know why. He just wasn't the dead bat for your life type.
A first India cap in 2016. A litany of broken death bowlers in his wake. A five-time IPL champion. Future India captain. Hardik's star is on an incredible rise and it is startling how similar he is to his mentor. In the way he plays. In the way he prepares. In the calm he maintains. Heck, he's almost as fun as Dhoni is even in press conferences. He's been through his trials. He's had to check his ego. He's had to ground himself. And now, having done that, he is ready to soar.
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Dhoni's farewell?
He's 41. It doesn't show when he's sprinting twos and threes. But he is. And he's been at this since 2005 - and that's only at top level.
MS Dhoni has a long and storied history of doing things that seem straight out of a dream but even he might not be able to play for us forever.
He has already said he wants to say goodbye in Chepauk (but he hasn't said when). There are eight games there this season. Eight chances to relive... everything.
The punch of the helmet when he took CSK into the playoffs against all odds. The funky field placements. The weird batting orders. The absolute control he has on an entire cricket ground the moment he sets foot in it.
He fell for Chennai. We fell for him. #ThalaForever
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Essential Reading
How much impact will the impact player have
The new rule is one of IPL 2023's major innovations and the teams are waiting to see how it plays out
By Nagraj Gollapudi
The new rule is one of IPL 2023's major innovations and the teams are waiting to see how it plays out
By Nagraj Gollapudi
IPL 2023 - Why it is going to be a season unlike any other
Love it or not - there's plenty of new stuff to look forward to in the 16th edition of the IPL
By Alagappan Muthu
Love it or not - there's plenty of new stuff to look forward to in the 16th edition of the IPL
By Alagappan Muthu
Mentor Dhoni vs protege Hardik, a contest within contest
Over the years, Dhoni has passed on his wisdom to Hardik. Can he use the same to trump the old master on Friday?
By Shashank Kishore
Over the years, Dhoni has passed on his wisdom to Hardik. Can he use the same to trump the old master on Friday?
By Shashank Kishore
Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings match preview
Both teams have proved experts wrong, and 2023 season begins with new rules
By Deivarayan Muthu
Both teams have proved experts wrong, and 2023 season begins with new rules
By Deivarayan Muthu
'Home and away makes the IPL what it is'
Players and staff celebrate the return of the tournament to its usual format for the first time in four seasons
By Shashank Kishore and Nagraj Gollapudi
Players and staff celebrate the return of the tournament to its usual format for the first time in four seasons
By Shashank Kishore and Nagraj Gollapudi
PS - Try out ESPNcricinfo's first AR-based game - just aim and hit the stumps.
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Welcome!
IPL 2023 brings with it a set of rules unlike any other tournament in cricket history, which makes it all the more important for the people participating in it to remember the one rule that has endured for all time.
K-I-S-S
Keep it simple, superstar.
Don Carlo does it with Real Madrid. There is no rhyme or reason to Real Madrid’s ability to come back from the dead except that they always *always* do. Mikel Arteta is doing it with Arsenal. It has been a long LONG time since the Gunners have looked that happy running around a football pitch. Skill, training, practice – all of that at this level is a given. Every team in elite sport errs on the side of high performance. The ones who win are those who realise that its also a game and the point of a game is to build community and have fun.
Mumbai do it in the IPL. You play for them, you’re family. CSK do it too. They play the game on the fly. Data and decorum be damned. The two most successful teams in the IPL remind everyone that incredible talent only lives up to potential if they are freed of limits, burdens and complications.
K-I-S-S
Because simple isn’t dull or boring or anything of the sort. Simple is elegant, relatable and powerful. Like the six words that Winston speaks at the end of John Wick Chapter Four tying the entire masterpiece together.
Welcome everyone to the inside of my head... oh and also to the start of the 16th annual Indian Premier League.
BTW, if you are seeing this on mobile device and didn’t know it already, ESPNcricinfo is better experienced on our apps. And we have recently rolled out an update for Android, which you can download or update here.
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