Ahmedabad, Mar 25: Gujarat Titans have won the toss and elected to bowl first against the Punjab Kings in Match 5 of the 2025 Indian Premier League season at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Tuesday. The game marks the beginning of a new era for the Punjab Kings with skipper Shreyas Iyer at the helm for the first time for his new franchise after leading Kolkata to victory in the 2024 season, and under the tenure of newly appointed head coach Ricky Ponting.

“I would have loved to bowl. I am always someone who loves a chase. Take the challenge. There are so many familiar faces around. There is Ricky (Ponting). You need unity and synergy in the team. We have got a lot of all-rounders in the team. We are spoilt for choices. Since we will be batting first, we have only one spinner and three seamers,” said Iyer at the toss.

While Punjab triggered a major overhaul bringing in established match winners and a few familiar faces, having entered the mega auction with the highest purse of any team, the Gujarat Titans have retained their core players, with a few major and all eyes will be on the side to see how the 2023 winners fare in the new season after having finished in eighth position in 2024.

“It is a good cricketing wicket. There is some dew here. Just keep it in mind. Dew is a big factor here. Big targets can be chased down. Preparation has been amazing. We have our bases covered. The bowling attack is good. Very fortunate to play at the biggest stage of the world,” said Gujarat captain Shubman Gill at the toss.

Playing XIs:

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler(w), Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Impact Subs: Sherfane Rutherford, Glenn Phillips, Ishant Sharma, Anuj Rawat and Washington Sundar.

Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh(wk), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (c), Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Suryansh Shedge, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Impact Subs: Nehal Wadhera, Praveen Dubey, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Harpreet Brar, Vishnu Vinod

--IANS

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