The unbeaten Gujarat Titans lock horns with Punjab Kings as Hardik Pandya-led side won the toss and chose to bowl first in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Friday (April 8).
"Going to bowl first because I think dew might be a factor later. We had a couple of good games where things went our side. Lot of courage shown by the boys. Two forced changes. Vijay misses out, Varun as well. Two debutants - Sai Sudarshan and Darshan," Gujarat Titans' skipper Hardik Pandya said before the match.
"Would've liked to bowl first as well but it is what it is. Did well last game batting first. Guys are taking a lot of responsibility. Have a lot of leaders in our side, makes my job easier. Bairstow comes in for Rajapaksa," Punjab Kings' captain Mayank Agarwal said.
Titans have won both their games in the tournament so far while Punjab Kings won two out of their three encounters and are in the fifth position.
Hardik & Co. were impressive with both bat and ball as they defeated Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals in their opening two matches. On the other hand, PBKS have mainly relied on their batting prowess till now and an off day resulted in their loss against Kolkata Knight Riders being triumphant against RCB and CSK.
Pitch report
"We are in for another batting-frenzy. We've got a little bit of grass on this wicket which is going to very consistent. It's going to play nicely for the quicks. Lots of even pace and bounce and a very good wicket. The middle-overs could be a struggle for both teams. I think it's going to be plenty of runs," former Australian player Matthew Hayden analyses the pitch.
Punjab Kings' Playing XI:
Mayank Agarwal(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow(w), Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh.
Gujarat Titans' Playing XI:
Matthew Wade(w), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya(c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Abhinav Manohar, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Darshan Nalkande.
