Opener Shubman Gill smashed 63 as holders Gujarat Titans beat Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in the Indian Premier League opener in front of more than 100,000 fans in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Chasing 179 for victory, Gujarat rode on Gill's 36-ball innings to achieve their target with four balls to spare at the world's biggest cricket stadium and their home ground.
The 16th edition of the money-spinning T20 tournament began with a glitzy opening ceremony and fireworks at a ground which has an official capacity of 132,000.
A roar erupted when home captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to field first but it was Chennai opener Ruturaj Gaikwad who soon silenced the home fans with a flurry of boundaries in his 92 off 50 balls.
Ruturaj lost partners Moeen Ali for 23 and then new signing Ben Stokes – the England all-rounder bought for $1.96 million in the auction – for seven but kept up the attack against the opposition bowlers.
But Mohammed Shami, who reached 100 IPL wickets, Rashid Khan and Alzarri Joseph took two wickets each to check the opposition scoring.
Gujarat suffered a blow when new overseas player Kane Williamson jarred his knee while attempting a catch at the boundary and limped off the ground.
"We were very happy because at one point they were looking to go past 200, but we got wickets at the right time," Pandya said. "Obviously when we lost Kane, we had to make sure we cover those runs and as many less runs as we can give."
Sai Sudharsan replaced Williamson under the new "impact player" rule, which was also taken by Chennai, who replaced Ambati Rayudu with pace bowler Tushar Deshpande before they fielded.
Ruturaj Gaikwad top-scored with 92 for Chennai Super Kings. AFP
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