Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to bat first at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Samson was unsure about the pitch conditions. Hardik was happy to bat as well as field. Rajasthan Royals made one change to the side replacing Jason Holder with Adam Zampa.
Thanks to Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer’s game-winning half-centuries, RR won the most recent encounter between the IPL 2022 champions by chasing the target of 177 with four balls remaining.
Why is Jason Holder not playing today?
Jason Holder was expensive in his last game. Tim David hit 3 consecutive sixes when 17 were needed off the last over. But the pitch at Rajasthan will offer spin to the slower bowlers. Hence Adam Zampa was preferred over him as he could contain the explosive GT batters with his skillful bowling.
What did the captains say at the toss?
Hardik Pandya: We were going to bat first as well. If the home captain does not know to what to choose, I thought might as well bowl and see what happens. They are a strong, consistent side. We have to be at our best. I don’t think so (smiles, when asked about changes to his side).
Sanju Samson: We would like to bat first. It’s a bit hard to read this pitch. Let’s bat a few overs and figure out later (smiles). The standard of cricket we are playing is really good. We were expecting something like this from Jaiswal with the prep he had been putting in for the last 2-3 years. (Smiles and scratches his head when asked about changes and then remembers) Zampa comes in place of Holder.
Playing XI
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Wriddhiman Saha(w), Hardik Pandya(c), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami, Joshua Little
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Adam Zampa, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal
Gujarat Titans Subs: Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Srikar Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore
Rajasthan Royals Subs: Murugan Ashwin, Joe Root, Riyan Parag, Kuldip Yadav, KM Asif
Stay updated with all the cricketing action, follow Cricadium on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
