Delhi Capitals skipper Axar Patel won the toss for the third match in a row and, once again, opted to send Gujarat Titans into batting. Gujarat will play under a slightly altered look with Shubman Gill back from a neck sprain, while the hosts stick with their XI unchanged.
Pre-match decisions and context
- Axar Patel chose to bowl after winning the toss, putting Gujarat in to bat.
- Gill returns to the Titans’ playing group, replacing Kumar Kushagra.
- Delhi’s captain highlighted that rain in the build-up may have left moisture on the pitch, influencing the decision to use those conditions early.
- Axar resisted the common temptation to bat first, pointing to a recent trend: on pitch No. 5 across IPL 2025 and IPL 2026, three of the four games were won by the side batting first.
- Speaking about his return, Gill said his neck is “much better now”.
- With Gujarat’s middle order under scrutiny after modest returns in their first two matches, the team has backed the same core group: Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia.
- Gill stressed the importance of building a finish, saying it comes down to “one guy sticking till the end” as Gujarat chase their first win and look to improve on last time, when they came “pretty close”.
Boundary dimensions could play a role in the contest. From the far end, the straight limits are longer at 68–69 metres, while the fine boundaries are shorter at 57–58 metres. The square sides are set at 63 metres each.
Playing XIs and impact options
Gujarat Titans
- 1 Shubman Gill (capt)
- 2 B Sai Sudharsan
- 3 Jos Buttler (wk)
- 4 Washington Sundar
- 5 Glenn Phillips
- 6 Shahrukh Khan
- 7 Rahul Tewatia
- 8 Rashid Khan
- 9 Kagiso Rabada
- 10 Mohammed Siraj
- 11 Ashok Sharma
Impact Sub options: Prasidh Krishna, Jason Holder, Manav Suthar, Jayant Yadav, Anuj Rawat
Delhi Capitals
- 1 KL Rahul (wk)
- 2 Pathum Nissanka
- 3 Nitish Rana
- 4 David Miller
- 5 Tristan Stubbs
- 6 Axar Patel (capt)
- 7 Vipraj Nigam
- 8 Kuldeep Yadav
- 9 Lungi Ngidi
- 10 T Natarajan
- 11 Mukesh Kumar
Impact Sub options: Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair
