The Rajasthan Royals (RR) have won the toss and chose to bat first in the 48th match of IPL 2023 against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Sawi Mansingh Stadium on Friday, May 5.
RR have made one change to their playing XI that lost against the Mumbai Indians (MI). Jason Holder, who conceded three sixes in the final over, has been left out of the side to accommodate willy leg-spinner Adam Zampa. The Titans, meanwhile, have retained the same side that lost against the Delhi Capitals (DC).
Here is the list of substitute players for the match:
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Srikar Bharat, Shivam Mavi, and Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore.
Rajasthan Royals: Murugan Ashwin, Joe Root, Riyan Parag, Kuldip Yadav, and KM Asif.
RR were in trouble early on and had to inject a batter in the form of Riyan Parag in place of Yashasvi Jaiswal. GT, on the other hand, brought opener Shubman Gill as an Impact Player sub in place of pacer Mohit Sharma.
Speaking at the toss, RR skipper Sanju Samson reckoned that it is hard to read the pitch. He also stressed that they want young Yashasvi Jaiswal to continue the way he has been batting.
"We would like to bat first," Sanju said. "It's a bit hard to read this pitch. Let's bat a few overs and figure out later (smiles). The standard of cricket we are playing is really good. We were expecting something like this from Jaiswal with the prep he had been putting in for the last 2-3 years. Zampa comes in place of Holder."
GT skipper Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, stressed that they have to be at their best to beat a tough side like Rajasthan.
"We were going to bat first as well," Hardik said. "If the home captain does not know to what to choose, I thought might as well bowl and see what happens. They are a strong, consistent side. We have to be at our best. I don't think so (smiles, when asked about changes to his side)."
RR vs GT Playing XIs
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Hardik Pandya (c), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami, and Joshua Little.
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (wk/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Adam Zampa, Sandeep Sharma, and Yuzvendra Chahal.
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