KKR Bat First vs GT After Toss Win; Seifert In, Allen Out for IPL 2026 Clash

After winning the toss, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane said New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert replaces his countryman Finn Allen. "We just want our batters to play freely, with freedom. The kind of tournament we've had so far, we've tried everything, chasing targets, batting first as well. I thought giving that freedom to the batters and then defending the total would be a good approach.

"That (batting first is a good option) is what I got to know. But again, sometimes you don't have to depend too much on data and stats. It's all about what you feel as a team and what you strongly want to do. As I said, the kind of tournament we've had so far, we just want to turn it around. I thought batting first was a good option.

"It's all about, if you're doing well, people will say good things about you. If you're not, then they will criticise you. It's part and parcel of any sportsperson's life. It's about staying confident as a team, backing each other in tough times, that's what matters.

"We always talk about character in the team, and we have really good characters. We just want to focus on our strengths and play good cricket. T20 is all about momentum, winning small moments. Today, we just want to play fearless cricket and stay in the moment," he said.

GT skipper Shubman Gill said his side is unchanged. "Honestly, we would have bowled first. I always feel the weather is getting a bit hotter, so there might be some dew around. We haven't seen it in the past 3-4 matches that we've played, but as we get deeper into the tournament, with the weather getting hotter, there might be some dew.

"Even in the last match, I think our batting collapsed in the middle; we lost five wickets from overs 11 to 15. Otherwise, it should have been a pretty comfortable chase against the Rajasthan Royals. It's about doing the simple things consistently as a group.

"It's about doing the small things as well as you can. That's something we always talk about in team meetings: keep the simple things simple. Don't complicate it too much because it's such a technical game. The more you complicate it, the more difficult it becomes," he said.

The straight boundaries stand at 72 metres while the square boundaries are at 66 metres, making run-chases more demanding. As per Daren Ganga and Simon Katich, the pitch looks to be a very good batting surface, though it has room for bowlers to fetch pace and bounce to dominate. They also noted the limited assistance for spin despite the hot conditions, adding that a green tinge and moisture will aid 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

- IANS