NEW DELHI: Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to bowl first against Delhi Capitals in their IPL clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday. The 2022 champions Gujarat Titans fielded an unchanged playing XI.
During the toss, Gill also mentioned that pacer Kagiso Rabada is expected to rejoin the team in about 10 days, having left the tournament to travel to South Africa for personal reasons.
“We will bowl first. It is very hot. The wicket looks very good. If you won’t keep much grass, it would crack up. Things have been going well. We don’t think much about the past. It is about turning up on the day. It takes a couple of weeks for the team to gel in. We are going with the same team. Hopefully, Rabada will come back in 10 days or so,” GT captain Shubman said during the toss.
Delhi Capitals left out opener Jake Fraser-McGurk from their starting XI, though he remains available as an Impact Player.
Poll
How important do you think Kagiso Rabada’s return will be for Gujarat Titans?
“I also wanted to field. I was confused as it was that hot. I was a little skeptical due to the weather. The bowlers might get tired under the sun. We will look to score well and look to defend. We wanted a good start. We wanted to focus on the process. We are focussing on our process and execution. We keep talking about improvements. The dressing room atmosphere has been good. It is important to be clear in your ideas. We have given them clear roles. You might get success sometimes and sometimes you won’t get it. Jake is not playing,” DC captain Axar Patel said.
Playing XIs:
Delhi Capitals: Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul (w), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (c), Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar
Gujarat Titans: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (w), Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, R. Sai Kishore, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma
Impact Substitutes:
Delhi Capitals: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Darshan Nalkande, Sameer Rizvi, Donovan Ferreira, Dushmantha Chameera
Gujarat Titans: Sherfane Rutherford, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Washington Sundar, Karim Janat
