MS Dhoni’s CSK vs Hardik Pandya’s GT: First poster of IPL 2023 goes viral, netizens react to season opener.

The IPL 2023 schedule has come out and MS Dhoni is already trending on Twitter which shows excitement among fans for “Thala” as the former India captain will be seen in action in the first match of the season.

The schedule was dropped earlier on Friday (February 17). Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings will play against Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans in the first match of the league. The clash will take place at Narendra Modi stadium, Ahmedabad at 7:30 pm.

Loads of tweets surfaced after the announcement of the IPL season opener fixture. Mainly because It's Dhoni vs Defending champion Pandya.
 
Jio Cinema, where you can watch the IPL 2023, released the poster for the first game right after the schedule dropped and it went viral in no time.  

Jio Cinema poster for the opening game in IPL 2023. pic.twitter.com/ok6lkDH1Kt

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 17, 2023

Schedule of CSK in IPL 2023. pic.twitter.com/RsccA9Z9XN

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 17, 2023

Battle of Brothers to kick start the #IPL2023 on March 31st #IPL2023 #WhistlePodu
BCCI/IPL pic.twitter.com/ul5b14J2Hy

— WhistlePodu Army ® - CSK Fan Club (@CSKFansOfficial) February 17, 2023

MS Dhoni will return to Chepauk stadium after 1,427 days.

A long wait over for Thala! pic.twitter.com/jOuONwaBti

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 17, 2023

Defending champions GT have been dominant in their previous meet against Dhoni’s CSK. Fans are eagerly awaiting what this edition of IPL brings for Dhoni and co.

As per sources, this might be the last IPL for MS Dhoni and he may announce his retirement before his last showdown at the Chepauk stadium in Chennai, the home ground of the CSK franchise. 

It will be interesting to see how Hardik Pandya plays against his idol in the season opener. As Hardik mentioned earlier that whatsoever he is today as a cricketer, it's because of Dhoni. The all-rounder has learned to finish the game while playing under Dhoni. He also mentioned in one of the post-match conferences “Now that MS is gone, the responsibility is on me”.  This history and their bonding make the clash even more engrossing.