Shubman Gill won the toss in Ahmedabad and, without fuss, chose to chase, suggesting the evening dew might make life easier for his Gujarat Titans later on. No tweaks from either camp – a quiet vote of confidence after both sides’ recent outings.
With Phil Salt still mending a sore ankle, Royal Challengers Bengaluru again hand the new ball duties to Jacob Bethell alongside Virat Kohli. Rajat Patidar, captaining RCB in Faf du Plessis’ absence, reckoned the surface wouldn’t help the seamers “too much”, yet he still has Rasikh Dar pencilled in as the likely Impact substitute once the bowling begins.
The strip carries a smattering of live grass. Gill believes there could be a hint of movement up front, which partly explains the decision to field first. Left-armer Arshad Khan remains in the Titans’ starting XI, meaning neither Prasidh Krishna nor Ashok Sharma makes the initial cut – and neither appears on the Impact list, so a late swap is off the cards. Expect Rahul Tewatia to slide in when the chase arrives.
RCB, fresh from back-to-back wins, would go top of the table with another two points. For all the talk of dew and grass, most eyes will still track Kohli’s early touch and Rashid Khan’s middle-over spell.
Gujarat Titans XI
Gill (capt), B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Jason Holder, M Shahrukh Khan, Washington Sundar, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Manav Suthar
Impact options: Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Nishant Sindhu, Kulwant Khejroliya
Royal Challengers Bengaluru XI
Kohli, Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Patidar (capt), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood
Impact options: Rasikh Dar, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Venkatesh Iyer
