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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won the toss and elected to bowl first against Gujarat Titans (GT) in their do-or-die Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad on May 21. While GT have already qualified for the playoffs, CSK's hopes for making the Last Four is hanging by a thread, which makes this match a must-win fixture for them.
Big changes in GT, CSK's playing XIs
Meanwhile, GT made one change to their playing XI as they brought in Prasidh Krishna in place of Sai Kishore. On the other hand, CSK made two changes for the crunch clash as Gurjapneet Singh and Matthew Short walked into their playing XI in place of Akeal Hosein and Prashant Veer.
What did the captains say at the toss?
CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, after winning the toss, said:
"We're gonna bowl first. Obviously there is some pace and bounce in the pitch and we want to exploit it early on. So that's the only reason we are bowling first. (What is the team combination?) We've got a couple of changes. Obviously, according to the conditions, Akeal misses out unfortunately. And Gurjapneet comes in. And we got Matt Short playing in place of Prashant Veer. (How have you regrouped for this important clash?) Well, it is about keeping it simple and trusting the process. I think even the last game we gave a good fight and obviously didn't get the result that we wanted, but it is all about coming up and turning up and getting that W at the end of the day. But obviously, there are a lot of things that unfold and we want to make sure that we keep it really simple and turn it up today."
Meanwhile, GT skipper Shubman Gill, after losing the toss, said:
"Shubman Gill: To bowl first as well, but it doesn't really make a difference. We have seen there's not much dew here and I don't like to go by stats, If you go by it, batting first, teams have won more matches. (Changes?) We have one change. Prasidh Krishna comes back in place of Sai Kishore. (What are the learnings from the last outing as a team, Shubman?) Honestly, it's all about keeping your intensity up. We dropped some catches in the last match. And I think fielding overall we've seen in this cycle, in the last couple of IPLs as well by all teams, it has not been on par. It has not been by the standards that each team would like to. So, hopefully in this game our intensity when we are bowling is right up there. I think we are playing some, we are bowling good standards and batting well as well. So it's all about all three departments coming together. Yeah, definitely. Just because we have a Q next to our name doesn't mean that the job is done. I think this is the hot zone of the tournament. So hopefully three good matches from there and we will be in a great space."
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI):
Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Kagiso Rabada, Arshad Khan, Mohammed Siraj
Gujarat Titans Impact Subs: Prasidh Krishna, Anuj Rawat, Glenn Phillips, Kulwant Khejroliya, Kumar Kushagra
Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI):
Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Matthew Short, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh
Chennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Kartik Sharma, Macneil Noronha, Sarfaraz Khan, Kuldip Yadav, Aman Khan
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