Mohammed Siraj stands at the top of his bowling mark. One slip for Porel, from over the wicket
3:28pm A variety of sunglasses and caps/headgear seen in the stands. It is that hot. The umpires make their way to the middle. Gill has a final few words to say before the GT huddle disperses. Abishek Porel and Karun Nair are the DC openers today
3:15pm Only two overseas players in DC’s bat-first XI. That could allow them to bring in Dushmantha Chameera as the Impact Player. Or one of Sameer Rizvi or Darshan Nalkande if they lose a few quick wickets. More interesting to see who between Nair and Rahul opens for them today
RK : “Finally some tactical use of the impact player rule by DC. Gives them flexibility to bring in Ferreira at the back end while batting or opt for the extra pacer while bowling. “
Muru P: “GT is not using Washy’s offspin capabilities…Also, keeping both Washy and Rutherford in the Sub list is not good because you would need both of them in the playing team.” As long as they don’t see Washy’s use as a bowler, he might not feature in their plans, i guess
3pm Shubman Gill and Axar Patel are all ready as Ravi Shastri shouts “Namaste Ahmedabad!” Gill spins the coin, Axar calls tails. GT win the toss and bowl
Very hot but the wicket looks very good, says Gill. Talks about taking it one game at a time and not paying attention to what happened in the past. GT go with the same team, Rabada is hopefully going to be back in next ten days, Gill adds
Axar wanted to field first but adds that it is a good toss to lose, because of the heat. The wicket looks good and he expects DC to score well. Talks about role clarity within his team. Fraser-McGurk is out, they will look to see whom to use as the Impact Player
Gujarat Titans bowl-first XI: Shubman Gill (capt), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Rashid Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Arshad Khan, R Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma
Bench: Sherfane Rutherford, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Washington Sundar, Karim Janat
Delhi Capitals bat-first XI: Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel (capt), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar
Bench: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sameer Rizvi, Darshan Nalkande, Donovan Ferreira, Dushmantha Chameera
You can follow the GT vs DC match LIVE in Hindi and also with more colour and analyses on the Live Report with Ekanth
2:55pm Pitch report: “It is hot and steamy,” Daren Ganga says. Pitch No. 6 in play, square boundaries are 64m and 69m and the hit down the ground is 73m. Three matches have been previously played on this surface, teams batting first winning each time. Michael Clarke peers down and observes a nice, even covering of grass and a rock-hard surface. It is 41 degrees, no chance of dew, as a result the track could be consistent whether a team bats first or second. So he expects team winning the toss to bat first.
IPL 2025 has reached the mid-point and some of our writers pick out moments/trends that stood out
2:50pm KL Rahul has been having a super season thus far. He has succeeded at the top of the order as well as in the middle order. There is intrigue around Faf du Plessis’ participation – DC captain Axar Patel was hopeful of that after the Super Over win against RR. If du Plessis plays, Fraser-McGurk is likely to make way. Tristan Stubbs and Ashutosh Sharma have taken care of the finishing department quite well – Stubbs strikes at 212 and Ashutosh at 217. Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and co. have their tasks cut out.
Thamizhachi : “Prasidh Krishna has stepped up to the demands of the occasions and has delivered the goods. Eager to watch him go v Karun Nair!”
2:40pm It is not often that Rashid Khan is overshadowed by someone else. He’s been through a lull in IPL 2025, picking up just four wickets in 22 overs at an economy over 9 and an average above 50. GT assistant coach Ashish Kapoor believed it was to do with his back injury and is hopeful of Rashid being back in form. There is also uncertainty around Kagiso Rabada’s return, he added. But GT have a new old player in their squad – Dasun Shanaka is Glenn Phillips’ replacement. Shanaka was part of the GT side in 2023
Odinlass: “It is seethingly hot and must only be worse in Ahmedabad. It is so easy for many of us to watch on television and read on Cricinfo (while in air conditioned rooms) but got to appreciate the ground staff, the fans who attend in-person, players, officials and everyone else involved and working in this heat. Thank you x a million times. Thank you to you who burn your fingertips to bring us gobsmacking live commentary that keeps the gift of the gab (by transcribing) alive. “
Sriram Sundar : “Excited to see this clash between probably the two stand out teams so far! “
2:30pm Gujarat Titans versus Delhi Capitals in Ahmedabad. One of those contests where DC have a 2-0 record at GT’s home. DC also have the upper-hand over GT in the IPL so far. I am really looking forward to this one. Two teams that finished in the lower half of the table last year look much more rounded. GT’s top three have been quite steady in setting up the platform for the finish. DC’s middle order is quite strong, their weakest link thus far being the form of Jake Fraser-McGurk. Hemant Brar sets up the contest in his match preview. No. 1 plays No. 3 in the head of Ahmedabad. Abhimanyu Bose and I, S Sudarshanan, are ready to rumble. Welcome to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball coverage and hope you have a joyride.
