Ruturaj Gaikwad won the toss as Chennai Super Kings elected to bowl first against Gujarat Titans in the crucial IPL 2024 clash at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday. Chennai recalled New Zealand's all-rounder Rachin Ravindra while last game's hero Joshua Little missed out for Gujarat's playing eleven for the crucial clash.
The struggling opener Ajinkya Rahane has been dropped to the impact substitutes list and might make an appearance when Chennai come to bat in the second innings. Gaikwad revealed a batting-friendly surface and his decision to chase in the second innings.
"We will bowl first," Ruturaj Gaikwad said after winning the toss. "Looks a good wicket to be honest. It's been a chasing ground, so we will look to chase. Pretty much similar to Chennai. We didn't like the red soil wicket much. Pretty relaxed. You tend to lose many games in IPL, you got to back everyone and make sure everyone is in a good head space. We had injuries in between, but happy now. Rachin Ravindra comes in for Gleeson."
Gujarat skipper revealed a niggle for the experienced wicketkeeper batter Wriddiman Saha. The veteran Australian Matthew Wade replaces Saha in Gujarat's starting eleven while the young pacer Kartik Tyagi is set to make his debut for the franchise replacing Joshua Little.
"Would have bowled first as well, looks a good wicket," Shubman Gill said. "There's 1 percent chance of qualifying, so we are going to try hard for that. The mood is like any other match, we as a team believe in doing the best we can. Will be a good surface to bat on. Will score runs and try to restrict them. Wade comes in for Saha who has a niggle. In order to get the team combination right, Kartik Tyagi makes his debut, he comes in for Joshua Little."
Gujarat Titans Playing XI: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, David Miller, Matthew Wade (wk), Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Kartik Tyagi.
Gujarat Titans Impact Subs: Abhinav Manohar, Sandeep Warrier, BR Sharath, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav.
Chennai Super Kings Playing XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Moeen Ali, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Simarjeet Singh.
Chennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Aravelly Avanish, Sameer Rizvi, Mukesh Choudhary.
