Ahmedabad, April 17 (NationPress) The Kolkata Knight Riders have triumphed in the toss and opted to bat first against the Gujarat Titans in the 25th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday. The Titans arrive at this home matchup riding a streak of consecutive victories, while the Knight Riders are eager to secure their inaugural win in this tournament.

After the toss, KKR's captain, Ajinkya Rahane, announced that New Zealand's wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert will take the place of his compatriot Finn Allen. “Our aim is for our batters to play with freedom. Given the nature of the tournament thus far, we've explored various strategies, including chasing targets and batting first. I believe granting freedom to the batters while defending a total is a wise strategy,” he stated.

“Batting first is a favorable option as I’ve gathered. Nevertheless, it’s important not to rely excessively on data and statistics. It's about the team’s collective intuition and their strong desire to execute a plan. As I mentioned, we’re keen on reversing our fortunes, and batting first seemed prudent,” he continued.

“Ultimately, if you perform well, praise follows; if not, criticism ensues. This is an integral part of any sportsperson’s journey. What truly matters is maintaining confidence as a team and supporting one another during challenging phases,” Rahane added.

“We constantly emphasize character within the team, and we boast robust characters. Our focus is on leveraging our strengths and playing quality cricket. T20 cricket hinges on momentum and seizing small moments. Today, we intend to play with audacity and remain present in the game,” he concluded.

GT captain Shubman Gill confirmed that his team remains unchanged. “To be honest, we would have preferred to bowl first. The weather is getting warmer, which could lead to some dew. Although we haven’t experienced it in our last few matches, as the tournament progresses and temperatures rise, dew may become a factor,” he explained.

“In our last match, we experienced a batting collapse; we lost five wickets between overs 11 to 15. Otherwise, it should have been a straightforward chase against the Rajasthan Royals. It's about consistently executing the fundamentals as a group,” he remarked.

“We emphasize doing the simple things effectively. This is a common topic in our team meetings: keep things straightforward. The more you complicate matters, the tougher it becomes, given the technical nature of the game,” he added.

The straight boundaries measure 72 meters while the square boundaries are at 66 meters, making run-chases more challenging. According to analysts Daren Ganga and Simon Katich, the pitch appears to be a favorable batting surface, yet it offers bowlers the opportunity to exploit pace and bounce. They also noted limited spin assistance despite the warm conditions, mentioning that a greenish hue and moisture will facilitate stroke-making.

Playing XIs

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (captain), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ashok Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna

Impact Substitutes: Jason Holder, Shahrukh Khan, Manav Suthar, Kulwant Khejroliya, and Anuj Rawat

Kolkata Knight Riders: Tim Seifert, Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wicketkeeper), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi

Impact Substitutes: Manish Pandey, Finn Allen, Tejasvi Singh Dahiya, Navdeep Saini, Varun Chakaravarthy