The Indian Premier League (IPL) is back for another season of high-octane cricketing action, and it got off to a spectacular start with an opening ceremony at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The ceremony featured performances from the biggest Bollywood stars and was the perfect way to kick off the tournament.
The tournament has become one of the most-watched sporting events in the world, with millions of fans around the world tuning in to watch the best teams from across India battle it out for the coveted IPL trophy. With some of the biggest names in cricket set to feature in the tournament, it promises to be an exciting and entertaining season of cricket. Indian actress Mandira Bedi hosted the opening ceremony.
Arijit Singh’s Performance
As soon as anchor Mandira Bedi called out Arijit Singh’s name, the noise filled the Narendra Modi stadium with the chanting of the first tune. Bollywood singer Arijit Singh enthralled the audience with his melodious performance on songs like Kesariya, Lehra Do, Apna Bana Le, Jhoome Jo Pathan, Raabta, Shivaay, Jeetega-Jeetega, Chadheya Dance Ka Bhoot, Raabta and Shubhanallah for about half an hour.
𝙈𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨!
How about that for a performance to kick off the proceedings 🎶🎶@arijitsingh begins the #TATAIPL 2023 Opening Ceremony in some style 👌👌 pic.twitter.com/1ro3KWMUSW
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 31, 2023
Rashmika Mandanna’s Performance
South Indian actress Rashmika Mandanna gave a scintillating dance performance on songs like Shrivalli, Naatu Naatu and Dholida.
Sound 🔛@iamRashmika gets the crowd going with an energetic performance 💥
Drop an emoji to describe this special #TATAIPL 2023 opening ceremony 👇 pic.twitter.com/EY9yVAnSMN
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 31, 2023
Tamannaah Bhatia’s Performance
Actress Tamannaah Bhatia also enthralled the audience with her dance performances on songs like Tune Maari Entriyaan and Chowgada Tara for about 5 minutes.
𝘿𝙖𝙯𝙯𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧!@tamannaahspeaks sets the stage on 🔥🔥 with her entertaining performance in the #TATAIPL 2023 opening ceremony! pic.twitter.com/w9aNgo3x9C
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 31, 2023
Spectators Show Support for their Teams
The opening ceremony was attended by 1.25 lakh spectators, who had come to the stadium with posters to show their support for their favourite teams. Unfortunately, due to the home and away format of the tournament, the captains of all the 10 teams could not attend the opening ceremony.
Arijit Singh touched feet of MS Dhoni ♥️#IPL2023 #GTvCSK pic.twitter.com/ZIGzyjy1Iq
— RVCJ Media (@RVCJ_FB) March 31, 2023
This scene ❤ #MSDhoni #ArijitSingh pic.twitter.com/gpElBbXE0A
— Subha 🙃 (@suva123456789) March 31, 2023
Previous Opening Ceremonies
Many Bollywood stars such as Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, as well as American singer Pitbull, have graced the IPL opening ceremony. At the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Hrithik Roshan, Jacqueline Fernandez and Tamannaah Bhatia performed, along with Mika Singh and Prabhudeva.
IPL 2023: GT vs CSK
In the first match of the tournament, defending champions Gujarat Titans defeated four-time champions Chennai Super Kings by five wickets. With this win at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat continued their unbeaten campaign against Chennai. This is his third consecutive win over CSK. Till now Gujarat has not been defeated. Gujarat won the match by reaching 182 runs for five wickets in 19.2 overs, surpassing Chennai Super Kings’ score of 178 runs for seven wickets in 20 overs.
IPL will be played in home-away format
Let us tell you that for the first time after 2019, the tournament will be played in ‘Home and Away’ format. Due to Kovid-19, matches were played only at selected venues in three seasons. This time all the teams will play matches at places other than their home ground. Apart from Mumbai, matches will be held in Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Chennai, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Mohali, Guwahati and Dharamshala.
Some new rules in the 16th edition of IPL
An impact player can substitute for any member of the team, regardless of whether they are a batter or a bowler. Even after the toss, the captain can make changes in the playing XI. Captain can take DRS on wide and no ball. Five penalty runs will be awarded for changing the fielder’s position before the batsman has played the ball. No more than four fielders are allowed to be positioned beyond the 30-yard line.
Numbers Game in Tournament
The tournament will be played from March 31 to May 28 at 12 different grounds. A total of 74 matches will be played in 59 days in the 16th edition of IPL. The 1000th match of IPL will be played between Mumbai and Chennai on 6th May.
These big names will not be seen in IPL this time
Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, Jay Richardson, Kyle Jamieson, Johnny Bairstow, Will Jacques and Krishna won’t feature in IPL due to injury.
