The introduction of an ‘Impact Player’ on this version of the Indian Premier League has added an additional dimension to captaining groups, which the Gujarat Titans’ skipper Hardik Pandya feels solely makes the job harder.
The sheer variety of obtainable gamers to select from in respective squads is what makes the ‘Impact Player‘ rule all of the extra tough.
For the primary time in IPL’s historical past, groups this season will likely be allowed to make a tactical substitution with an ‘Impact Player’ coming in to bat or bowl as wanted.
Led by Pandya, Gujarat started their title defence with a five-wicket victory over four-times champions Chennai Super Kings within the season-opening match in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Chennai set Gujarat a goal of 179 after Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a sensational 92, however his heroics went in useless as Shubman Gill’s 63, mixed with late cameos by Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia, helped the defending champions seal a win.
Chennai’s Tushar Deshpande grew to become the primary Impact Player when he got here in for Ambati Rayudu throughout their defence, whereas Gujarat’s Sai Sudharsan changed New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and batted at no. 3 after he injured his knee whereas fielding.
“To be very honest, having this impact rule makes my job quite difficult because when you have too many options, you have to pick the right option, and I think because of this reason, someone will bowl less,” Pandya mentioned.
“I had to just pick and kind of back (my instinct), where I felt that going hard lengths was the plan for me, and it kind of worked, so yeah, some of the bowlers came late but they did the job for us.”
Pandya additionally heaped reward on Afghanistan’s Rashid, who was named the Player of the Match for bagging two wickets and hitting a 4 and 6 in his unbeaten 10-run show which performed a vital function in Gujarat’s win.
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Gujarat Titans beat Chennai Super Kings to win IPL 2023 opener
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<p>Opener Shubman Gill smashed 63 as holders Gujarat Titans beat Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets within the Indian Premier League opener in Ahmedabad on Friday. </p>
<p>Chasing 179 for victory, Gujarat rode on Gill’s 36-ball innings to attain their goal with 4 balls to spare. </p>
<p>Hardik Pandya received the toss and elected to area first earlier than Chennai opener Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed a flurry of boundaries in his 92 off 50 balls. </p>
<p>Ruturaj misplaced companions Moeen Ali (23) and Ben Stokes (7) however saved up the assault towards the opposition bowlers. </p>
<p>But Mohammed Shami, who reached 100 IPL wickets, Rashid Khan and Alzarri Joseph took two wickets every to examine the opposition scoring. </p>
<p>Gujarat suffered a blow when Kane Williamson jarred his knee whereas making an attempt a catch on the boundary and limped off the bottom. </p>
<p>Sai Sudharsan changed Williamson underneath the brand new “impact player” rule after Chennai changed Ambati Rayudu with Tushar Deshpande after they fielded. </p>
<p>Deshpande bought the prized wicket of Gill after being hit for a six on the earlier ball to spice up Chennai’s hopes of a turnaround. </p>
<p>But unbeaten cameos from Rashid Khan (10) and Rahul Tewatia (15) steered their crew dwelling.</p>
<p>Rashid was named man of the match for his all-round present. </p>
<p>”We were very happy because at one point they were looking to go past 200, but we got wickets at the right time,” Pandya mentioned. </p>
<p>”Obviously when we lost Kane, we had to make sure we cover those runs and as many less runs as we can give,” Pandya added. </p>
<p>”Having this Impact rule makes my job difficult,” mentioned Pandya. “I have too many options, and because of this someone will bowl less.” </p>
<p>”We were slightly short,” Dhoni mentioned of his crew’s 178/7. </p>
<p>”Another 15-20 runs would have been good. We all know there would be a little bit of dew,” Dhoni added. </p>
“When you have Rashid Khan in your team, it gives you a sigh of relief,” Hardik mentioned. “He can come and bowl and get you wickets and at the end of the day if you need some runs he’ll come and smack it and make our job easy.”
Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni mentioned the crew ought to have set a much bigger goal.
“Another 15-20 runs would have been good. We all know there would be a little bit of dew,” Dhoni defined. “We could have batted properly in the middle overs as opposed to trying to muscle the ball.”
(With company inputs)
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com