IPL 2026: Shubman Gill wins toss; GT opt to bowl first against RCB

Shubman Gill and Rajat Patidar (Pic: BCCI)

Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bowl first against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

RCB are currently second on the points table with 12 points, while the Gujarat Titans are placed fifth with eight points.

After winning the toss, Gill said he was happy to bowl first, with GT aiming to secure a win and move into the top four.

"We are going to bowl first. The pitch looks a little dry and patchy. The first four or five overs might offer some swing, and in case there's dew later, we prefer chasing. These are two very important points for us. We have two games at home, including this one, and they will determine where we stand in the tournament. The boys are ready to go, and we are playing the same team," Gill said.

RCB skipper Rajat Patidar admitted that he would have preferred to bowl first as well but remained confident about putting up a strong total.

"Obviously, we were looking to field first, but to be honest, IPL pitches are generally good for batting. There is some grass cover, but I don't think it will help the bowlers too much. It should be a good surface to bat on. We'll look to put a strong total on the board and put them under pressure. The way we played in the first half of the tournament was very encouraging, and we are going with the same team," Patidar said.

Confirmed Playing XI for both teams:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Jason Holder, Shahrukh Khan, Washington Sundar, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Manav Suthar