IPL 2023: CSK's Tushar Deshpande becomes first 'Impact Player' in IPL history

Tushar Deshpande made history on the opening day of IPL 2023 by becoming the first-ever Impact Player in the T20 league. This right-arm pacer replaced Ambati Rayudu, a full-fledged batsman, and despite not being part of the playing XI, Tushar was allowed to bowl. Unfortunately, he didn't make a great start and leaked 14 runs in the first over he bowled.

The introduction of the Impact Player is a new addition to the IPL, and this is the first time the BCCI has implemented it. A team can select the Impact Player before the 14th over, and in this case, CSK decided to make use of Tushar before the start of Gujarat Titans' innings.

On the other hand, Gujarat utilized their Impact Player, Sai Sudharsan, as a batsman. Interestingly, Sudharsan was already geared up for batting before the innings began. It's worth mentioning that Kane Williamson had injured his knee while fielding, and Gujarat required an Impact Player to fill in the gap. 

In a T20 fixture, a team is only allowed to use one Impact Player. In the current game, Gujarat Titans have opted for Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill as their opening batsmen. The defending champions are chasing a target of 179 in the first game of the season.

Chennai Super Kings put up a mammoth total of 178 on the board, thanks to a spectacular innings of 92 by Ruturaj Gaikwad. The opening batsman smashed 9 sixes and 4 half-centuries, with a strike-rate of 184.00. Captain MS Dhoni also contributed to the total with an unbeaten 14 off 7 balls.

On the bowling front, Mohammed Shami was the star performer for GT, taking 2 wickets in his four-over spell. Rashid Khan and Alzarrip Joseph also took two wickets each, while Joshua Little became the first Irish player to feature in the T20 league, taking one wicket.

READ| Watch: Crowd chants ‘Dhoni Dhoni’ as MSD makes his presence felt in IPL 2023 opener against Gujarat Titans