GT VS KKR, IPL 2026: Ajinkya Rahane Wins Toss, Opts To Bat First In Search Of First Win

Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders will face off in a vital clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. KKR are winless and at the bottom of the IPL 2026 standings. Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and surprisingly chose to bat first, replacing Finn Allen with Tim Seifert.

Only twice before this game has a captain won the toss and opted to bat first. Rahane himself decided to bat first against Punjab Kings, but that game ended in a washout. The other instance saw Rajasthan Royals do so against Gujarat Titans at the same venue, with Tushar Deshpande defending 11 runs in the final over.

GT vs KKR Playing XI

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

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

KKR have been winless and have opted to ring in changes at the top of the order. Sunil Narine returned to open, while Allen has been replaced by fellow Kiwi Tim Seifert.