The Gujarat Titans (GT) have won the toss and opted to field first against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 46th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. GT captain Shubman Gill revealed that Nishant Sindhu will make his IPL debut as Shahrukh Khan goes out. As for PBKS, Shreyas Iyer revealed that Xavier Bartlett and Vijaykumar Vyshak return to the side, with Lockie Ferguson and Harpreet Brar going out.
Why did GT choose to bowl?
Gill decided to bowl first since he believes they have chased well in the last few matches. In fact, all 5 victories for GT in IPL 2026 have come while batting second.
“We are going to bowl first. We have been chasing well in the past few games, and our bowling is doing well, so we will continue that momentum. We spoke about our middle order finishing the game, and the way Rahul (Tewatia) bhai did was amazing. There is something in it initially for the bowlers. It is all about peaking at the right time; we are doing that, and I still think our best game is yet to come. One change – (Nishant) Sindhu makes his debut,” Gill said after winning the toss.
Shreyas doesn’t mind batting first. He thinks the surface will help batters, since there will be some bounce. They’ve added a fast bowler, keeping the conditions in mind.
“It (the pitch) looks beautiful. Grass on the wicket would extract a little bit of bounce, considering it’s the black soil. Pretty much unusual, but yeah, we have played on this wicket before, but it looks beautiful. (Do you tinker with your side for tonight?) Yes, X (Xavier) comes in, and Vyshak comes in as well on the bowling side. But apart from that, I feel that it’s not frustration; it’s just that you have to learn in every game. And it’s an intense league, honestly speaking. We travel; we have to come up fresh for the next game. So, it takes a lot of effort in the practice session as well. It’s just that we haven’t been able to execute the way we were supposed to, but it’s just another game right now, and we will see to it that we put our best foot forward and execute to the best of our abilities,” Shreyas said.
Narendra Modi Stadium Pitch Report
First of all, we are playing at pitch number 5. It’s the same surface that was used for the Mumbai Indians match on April 20. Like in that game, we can expect some help for the fast bowlers, especially early on. Batters for both teams struggled when the ball was new. But the old ball won’t be easy either. The average turn for this particular pitch is 2 degrees. Considering two leg spinners are playing, Rashid Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal, we might see perhaps even more turn.
GT vs PBKS: Playing XIs & Impact Subs
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly✈️, Shreyas Iyer (c), Marcus Stoinis✈️, Suryansh Shedge, Nehal Wadhera, Marco Jansen✈️, Xavier Bartlett✈️, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
- Impact Subs: Harpreet Brar, Vishnu Vinod, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Musheer Khan, Mitchell Owen✈️
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk)✈️, Washington Sundar, Nishant Sindhu, Jason Holder✈️, Rashid Khan✈️, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada✈️, Mohammed Siraj, Manav Suthar
- Impact Subs: Rahul Tewatia, Glenn Phillips✈️, Anuj Rawat, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kumar Kushagra
IPL record at Narendra Modi Stadium after winning the toss
48 matches have been played at the venue in the IPL. Only 22 of them, 45.83%, have been won by the team winning the toss. There’s an even split for teams batting first and second: 24 matches won each. It’s one of the most balanced grounds in India.
GT vs PBKS: Who has the advantage
GT has wicket-takers for every phase. PBKS are yet to fail in the powerplay. But with early help expected, one can see Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj chip away with the new ball. If the middle order is tested, PBKS might fail to score even a par total. Especially since Shashank Singh isn’t playing either. Also, targets of 180 to 200 are very much in GT’s wheelhouse, and they are playing at home.
