Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill won the toss in Ahmedabad and opted to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, with the skipper pointing to the possibility of dew arriving later in the evening. Both sides made no changes to their playing XI.
Toss call, pitch thinking and what it means
Gill’s decision to field first was driven by conditions later on, while he also felt the surface could help the ball move during the powerplay. There was live grass covering the wicket, adding texture to the early overs, although Rajat Patidar believed the track might not offer bowlers “too much” assistance.
- Gill chose to bowl, citing potential dew later in the match.
- Live grass on the pitch was expected to support swing in the early phase.
- Patidar felt the wicket may not help bowlers significantly.
- A win for RCB would lift them to the top of the points table, with a third straight victory in a row.
RCB batting plans: injury update and opening combination
For RCB, the earlier concern around Phil Salt continued to shape their approach. With the opener still recovering from injury, Jacob Bethell was set to open alongside Virat Kohli.
RCB’s likely bowling changes later on were also hinted at. Seamer Rasikh Dar is the most probable option coming in from the Impact Subs bench when Bengaluru bowl in the evening.
- Phil Salt remains sidelined with injury recovery continuing.
- Jacob Bethell will open with Virat Kohli for RCB.
- Rasikh Dar is the likeliest Impact Sub to be used by RCB while bowling.
Gujarat Titans XI and Impact Player selection
On the Titans’ side, neither Prasidh Krishna nor Ashok Sharma featured in a bowling-first XI. Arshad Khan retained his place, taking the spot in the playing XI.
Neither Prasidh nor Ashok was included in GT’s Impact Subs list. With the bat, Rahul Tewatia was expected to be the Impact Player when Gujarat chase.
- Prasidh Krishna and Ashok Sharma did not play for GT despite the team bowling first.
- Arshad Khan kept his place in the Titans’ XI.
- Prasidh and Ashok were not named in GT’s Impact Subs.
- Rahul Tewatia is likely to be GT’s Impact Player during the chase.
Playing XIs and Impact Subs
Gujarat Titans: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Jason Holder, 5 M Shahrukh Khan, 6 Washington Sundar, 7 Arshad Khan, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Manav Suthar
Impact Subs: Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Nishant Sindhu, Kulwant Khejroliya
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Jacob Bethell, 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Rajat Patidar (capt), 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Tim David, 7 Romario Shepherd, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Suyash Sharma, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Impact Subs: Rasikh Dar, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Venkatesh Iyer
