New Delhi, April 8 (NationPress) Shubman Gill is back at the helm of the Gujarat Titans as Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel won the toss and chose to bowl first during Match 14 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday.

This marks DC's first evening match at their home ground following two consecutive victories, while GT, champions of IPL 2022, aims to secure their first points on the board. Axar, winning the toss for the third time in a row, announced that his playing eleven remains unchanged from their previous six-wicket triumph over the Mumbai Indians.

“We’ve excelled in chasing during our last two matches, and today’s pitch is fresh. Given the recent rain, there might be some moisture. We analyze various match-ups to make it tough for the batters,” he stated.

“I do not solely rely on match-ups. My rotations depend on how well a bowler is performing. So far, the strategy has been effective in the last two matches, and I hope it holds,” he added.

Meanwhile, Gill mentioned that his neck is 'much improved' after experiencing a muscle spasm that caused him to miss the game against the Rajasthan Royals in Ahmedabad, which GT lost narrowly by six runs. He noted that the spasm was reminiscent of an injury he sustained during the Kolkata Test against South Africa last year, and he expressed a preference for batting first regardless.

With Gill's return, Kumar Kushagra exits GT’s playing eleven. “If the weather holds, there shouldn’t be any dew in the second innings. It’s crucial to assess conditions in the opening overs. Sai (Sudharsan) and I have been forming solid opening partnerships,” Gill commented.

“We hope to have a productive Power-play and set competitive totals. It’s about performing well in one crucial game. In our last outing, we were close, losing by a small margin. It just takes one player to stick around until the end, be it from the middle or top order. Perhaps today will be that day,” he said.

The match will utilize pitch number five, which has equidistant square boundaries and a straight boundary of 73m. Analysts Kevin Pietersen and Daren Ganga noted the reduced grass cover on the pitch, indicating it may be dry but still favorable for scoring runs.

Playing XIs:

Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Vipraj Nigam, Axar Patel (captain), David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar

Impact substitutes: Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (captain), B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wicket-keeper), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Ashok Sharma

Impact substitutes: Prasidh Krishna, Jason Holder, Manav Suthar, Jayant Yadav, Anuj Rawat