The 16th season of IPL began with a grand opening ceremony yesterday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The defending champions Gujarat Champions and the four times champions Chennai Super Kings locked horns in the season opener. GT defeated CSK by 5 wickets.

Talking at the post match presentation, CSK captain MS Dhoni said, "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. 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 but a no-ball is something that's in your control, so you need to work on that."

Hardik Pandya, the captain of GT, chose to bowl first after winning the toss. CSK put 178 runs on the board in 20 overs. The team's star opening batter, Ruturaj Gaikwad scored 92 in 50 balls. He played perfect and classy shots including nine massive sixers. Moeen Ali and Thala Dhoni played worthy cameos while the other batter disappointed.

Gujarat Titans chased the target in 19.2 overs and scored 182. Shubman Gill played an impressive knock of 63 in 36 balls. On the other hand, CSK's bowling was not upto the mark even though the fielding was good. The impact player of CSK, Tushar Deshpande, was an utter flop as he conceded 51 runs in 20 balls. Meanwhile, the debutant pace bowler Rajavardhan Hangargekar bowled a super spell.