Ahmedabad, Mar 31: Gujarat Titans began the defence of their title with a five-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in the IPL opener here on Friday.

Opener Ruturaj Gaikwad cracked a blistering 92 off 50 balls to power Chennai Super Kings to 178/7 after being asked to bat.

In reply, the Titans reached the target in 19.2 overs.

Shubman Gill was the top scorer for the Titans, scoring a 36-ball 63.

Earlier, Gaikwad smashed nine sixes even though wickets fell at regular interval at the other end.

For the Titans, spinner Rashid Khan (2/26) and pacers Mohammed Shami (2/29) and Alzarri Joseph (2/33) picked two wickets each.

Brief Scores:
 
Chennai Super Kings 178 for 7 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 92; Moeen Ali 23; Rashid Khan 2/26, Mohammed Shami 2/29, Alzarri Joseph 2/33)

Gujarat Titans 182 for 5 in 19.2 overs (Shubman Gill 63; Rajvardhan Hangargekar 3/36).

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday predicted extremely heavy rainfall in Kerala in the coming days and issued a red alert in some districts of the state for May 19 and 20.

The IMD issued the red alert in Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Idukki districts of the state for May 19 and 20.

Additionally, an orange alert was issued for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, and Ernakulam for those two days.

The weather department further issued an orange alert in nine districts for May 21 and said some of them were likely to receive rains similar to that of a red alert.

It also predicted that thunderstorms with lightning, accompanied by gusty winds, were very likely to occur at one or two places in Kerala between May 19 and 22.

For Saturday, it issued an orange alert in Pathanamthitta, Idukki and Malappuram districts.

A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange alert means very heavy rain (6 cm to 20 cm). A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm.

The IMD on Thursday had predicted very heavy rainfall in the state between May 18 and 20 due to the likely prevalence of strong westerly and south westerly winds in the region.