Gujarat Titans to play CSK in IPL opener on March 31 in Ahmedabad
New Delhi, Feb 17: Defending champions Gujarat Titans will play four-time winners Chennai Super Kings to begin the upcoming Indian Premier League in Ahmedabad on March 31.
The Titans, led by Hardik Pandya, won the title in their debut season last year.
According to the schedule announced by the BCCI on Friday, there will be a total of 52 round-robin matches.
The first double-header of the season will see Punjab Kings taking on Kolkata Knight Riders in Mohali and Lucknow Super Giants facing Delhi Capitals in Lucknow on April 1.
While the weekdays will feature one match, double headers are scheduled every Saturday and Sunday.
The league matches end on May 21, with a tie between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Titans in Bengaluru.
After staging the league across Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad in the last edition, the 16th season will revert to the home and away format, where all the teams will play seven home games and as many away matches respectively in the league stage.
According to the BCCI, a total of 70 league stage matches will be played across 12 venues over the course of 52 days.
The IPL 2023 will have 18 double headers, with the day games starting at 3:30 PM and the evening matches beginning at 07:30 in the evening.
Rajasthan Royals will play their first two home games in Guwahati before playing the remainder of their home matches in Jaipur.
Punjab Kings will play their five home matches in Mohali and their last two home games in Dharamshala against Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals respectively.
The schedule and venues for the play-offs and final will be announced later. The summit clash will be played on May 28.
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Dalit groom prays at temple near Ambedkar's birthplace in police presence
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Indore (PTI): A groom from the Dalit community had to offer prayers at a Lord Ram temple, located near Dr B R Ambedkar's birthplace, in police presence after an argument between two groups in a village here.
The incident took place on Monday, when the country celebrated the birth anniversary of the Constitution's chief architect and social reformer Ambedkar, a revered figure among Dalits who was born on April 14, 1891 at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district.
As per accounts provided by eyewitnesses and videos on social media, the groom, who arrived at the temple in Sanghvi village, 25 km from Mhow, with his marriage procession and guests, offered prayers at the temple along with a few of his family members in the presence of police.
The police, however, denied claims that the Dalit man was prevented from entering the temple, and asserted there was an argument between two groups over entering the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine, where only priests are allowed as per local traditions.
Some videos of the incident have surfaced on social media. In one of the videos, the groom is seen standing outside the temple with his marriage procession and 'baraatis' (guests) arguing with the other side, said to be members of a privileged caste.
After a controversy erupted, police issued a statement clarifying the entire episode.
"A rumour that a Dalit groom was prevented from entering the temple in Sanghvi village in the Betma police station area is being circulated on social media, which is misleading. The groom and his family went to the temple and prayed. After this, the wedding procession was taken out peacefully," statement said.
On receiving information about the argument between the wedding party members and the other group, a police team reached the spot and resolved the issue by convincing people of both the sides regarding entering the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, it said.
After offering prayers at the temple, the wedding procession left for its destination, the statement said.
Betma police station in-charge Meena Karnawat told PTI, "In Sanghvi village, no one stopped the groom from a Scheduled Caste to enter the temple. The 'baraati' side was talking about entering the temple's sanctum sanctorum, where according to local traditions, only priests are allowed. No devotee goes inside the sanctum sanctorum of this temple.''
The groom belonged to the Balai community.
Manoj Parmar, president of the All India Balai Mahasangh, said, "Due to the frustrated mentality of some people, our community still has to face caste discrimination in rural areas. The groom from the Dalit community was able to offer prayers at the temple under police protection after nearly two hours of argument."
