IPL 2022: Gujarat Titans win toss, opt to field against Chennai Super Kings

In the second match of Sunday’s double-header, Gujarat Titans captain Rashid Khan, who replaced regular skipper Hardik Pandya, won the toss and opted to field against Ravindra Jadeja-led Chennai Super Kings at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium, Pune.

Also Read: IPL 2022: SunRisers Hyderabad thrash Punjab Kings by 7 wickets

Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph and wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha, who replaced Matthew Wade, made their debut for Gujarat Titans. CSK maintained the winning combination after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore in their previous game. Hardik Pandya is battling a groin injury.

Gujarat Titans are currently leading the points table with four wins in five games while CSK lost four games and won one. Both GT and CSK won their previous game. GT captain Hardik Pandya had played a fantastic knock while CSK defeated RCB by 23 runs, posting a massive 217 runs target. Hardik will be missed in today’s game.

Also Read: Shoaib Akhtar expresses doubt over Virat Kohli’s domination in his era

What did the captain say?

Rashid Khan: We would like to bowl first. Bit of stiffness in the groin area for Hardik, so as a team we didn’t want to take a chance. He will rest and hopefully be back for the next game. Super excited, it’s kind of a dream. So I just want to learn as much as I can and give 100 %. Matthew Wade is out and Saha is in. It’s just to balance it out as Hardik is absent.

Ravindra Jadeja: We would have bowled first as well. Now we will look to put a good score on the board and put pressure on them. After the last game, we had a day off and back to basics with the training and stuff. Same team for us.

Also Read: Glimpse of Baby AB: Dewald Brevis’ best at the ICC U19 World Cup | Watch

Pitch report: Gujarat Titans have the experience of playing on this field before and they won posting 171. Teams batting first have won thrice here. So the team that bats first will have an upper hand. It is a used surface and there is a covering of grass. Bowlers will get plenty of support from this condition, and a modest score is expected.

Also Read: IPL 2022: Dinesh Karthik eyes India comeback after smashing 34-ball 66

Playing XI

Chennai Super Kings: Robin Uthappa, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja(c), MS Dhoni(w), Dwayne Bravo, Chris Jordan, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary

Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan(c), Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Shami