The Indian Premier League 2023 returned to its old home and away format as 10 teams are having a crack at each other for the coveted trophy. The opening day of the tournament witnessed defending champions Gujarat Titans beating four-time winners Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Notably, according to Disney Star, the first day of the 52-day event witnessed 140 million viewers tuning into their TV sets and watching the game as well as the opening ceremony.
Star Sports has television rights for the tournament and they released a statement informing about the viewership on the opening day. The day also witnessed 10.5 billion minutes of live broadcast on TV, which is a 47 per cent growth compared to last year's first day.
"We are humbled by the overwhelming response that #IPLonStar has received from fans across the country. The massive growth in viewing time is a testament to the success of our campaign, focus on building the virtues of Star Sports’ broadcast, the continuing dominance of linear television as the preferred platform for uninterrupted viewing of live cricket, and most of all, the deep relationship we share with cricket fans," said Sanjog Gupta, Head-Sports, Disney Star.
"This also reiterates the popularity of TATA IPL as the premier cricket tournament in the world. We will continue to stay committed in our endeavour to serve fans through the power of storytelling, best-in-class coverage and customisation at scale," he added.
Gujarat Titans started their IPL 2023 campaign just as they finished in the previous season as they defeated Chennai Super Kings in the opening match on Friday. In the game played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, Gujarat beat Chennai by 5 wickets. Batting first in the match, CSK scored 178 runs losing 7 wickets. In response, Gujarat chased down the target in the last over with five wickets in hand.
Earlier, in this match, Gujarat won the toss and opted to bowl. Coming to bat first, CSK scored 178/7, Ruturaj Gaikwad played an excellent inning of 92 runs for CSK. On the other hand, 23 runs came off the bat of Moeen Ali and skipper MS Dhoni played an unbeaten 14-run inning in the end. When it comes to Gujarat, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph and Rashid Khan took two wickets each from their side and Joshua Little got a wicket.
