NEW DELHI: Gujarat Titans have been dealt a surprise blow ahead of their IPL 2026 clash against Rajasthan Royals as regular skipper Shubman Gill has missed the match due to muscle spasm. In his absence, Rashid Khan stepped in to lead the side and assured fans that the issue was not serious and Gill should be back soon. Led by Riyan Parag, Rajasthan won the toss and elected to bat first with the aim of putting up a big total on a high-scoring pitch.Explaining the situation, Rashid said, “We wanted to bowl first. Gill has muscle spasms, hopefully he will be back soon. KK is playing his first match and I am looking forward to see him play.”
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‘Bowlers have it tough’ – Glenn Phillips breaks down modern T20 cricketOn the other hand, Parag backed his team’s approach and said, “We will bat first. We have to assess and adapt to different conditions. Hopefully we can get a good score of around 210 and defend it later.”The pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium looked good for batting with an average score of over 200, although the chasing teams often struggled here.Coming into the game with strong momentum after a convincing win, Rajasthan Royals boasted a balanced team with solid batting and diverse bowling options. Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans struggled to bounce back after a disappointing start where over-reliance on their top order and a weak middle order hurt their chances.Their bowlers did a decent job in the previous game but the batting unit failed to capitalize. With Gill unavailable, the responsibility for the rest of the lineup became even more important.All in all, while Rajasthan looked confident and composed, Gujarat faced an early challenge – not just from their opponents but also due to the absence of their key leader. Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep SharmaGujarat Titans (Playing XI): Kumar Kushagra, Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan(c), Kagiso Rabada, Ashok Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
