Rajasthan Royals were without skipper Riyan Parag for their crucial IPL clash against Gujarat Titans in Jaipur, with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal stepping in as captain. It marked Jaiswal’s first outing as skipper in the IPL, and he began on a positive note by winning the toss and opting to bowl first. Parag was ruled out after suffering a hamstring injury during Rajasthan’s previous match against Delhi Capitals, a game the Royals ended up losing. His absence came as another setback for Rajasthan at an important stage of the tournament, with the team already struggling to build momentum in the second half of the season.
Leading RR for the first time in the IPL, Jaiswal confirmed that regular skipper Riyan missed the clash against Gujarat Titans due to a hamstring injury suffered in the previous game. Jaiswal also spoke about the team changes and his excitement ahead of captaining the side in a crucial encounter.
“We are going to bowl first. I think the wicket is pretty good and we want to chase it. Riyan pulled his hamstring last game, so I feel he’ll be coming back soon. Shimron Hetmyer comes in and Yash Raj Punja comes in. That’s the two guys who are coming in. I’m really excited, looking forward to the game,” Jaiswal said at the toss.
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Meanwhile, Titans skipper Shubman Gill was also looking to bowl first at Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Gill also confirmed one change to the playing XI, with Prasidh Krishna returning to the side, while stressing the importance of belief and execution in close matches.
“We would have bowled first as well honestly. We have got one change. Prasidh Krishna comes back in place of Manav Suthar. I think it’s important to look back at your strengths as a batting group or as a bowling group. What are the things that has got us so much success as a team. So, there were some areas that we went back and we reflected. Most of the games that we have played have been pretty close. So, it’s all about doing that extra effort, putting that belief in, and if something is going well for you, having the belief to be able to execute,” Gill said.
Playing XIs of GT vs RR
Gujarat Titans Playing XI: Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj
Rajasthan Royals Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal(c), Dhruv Jurel(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja.
