IPL 2025: SRH opt to bowl first in must-win game, GT look to reclaim top-2 spot

Ahmedabad, May 2 (IANS) Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to bowl first against Gujarat Titans in Match 51 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Friday. In the five matches that have been played at this venue, including Friday night's encounter, no team has elected to bat first at the Narendra Modi Stadium this season.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad sit on the verge of elimination. A loss on the night could see them become the third team after Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals to have been eliminated from the tournament.

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins said, "We will have a bowl. You never really know what you will get. Sometimes it is better to bat at night. We won our first game at CSK's venue. Hopefully, the trend continues here as well. If we win all our games, we still have a chance. We haven't quite clicked as a team. In the last couple of games, we have done better. Same team."

The Titans have certainly stumbled along their way, after having won four games on the trot and occupying the top spot in the table for the initial phase of the tournament, and are coming off a thumping loss against the Rajasthan Royals. The home side has made one change to their lineup with Gerald Coetzee coming in place of Karim Janat.

Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill said, "We would have bowled first as well. Looks like a good wicket. Last game here, we played against Mumbai, and we batted as well. The season has been pretty good for us. Nothing changes us for us. This is the time when a good team peaks. We are not really looking at the NRR. We are looking to see each game as it is. We have one change. Gerald comes in for Karim."

Playing XIs:

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (capt), B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Gerald Coetzee, R Sai Kishore, Prasidh Krishna

Impact substitutes: Ishant Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Arshad Khan, Sherfane Rutherford

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Aniket Verma, Kamindu Mendis, Pat Cummins (capt), Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, Mohammed Shami

Impact substitutes: Abhinav Manohar, Sachin Baby, Travis Head, Rahul Chahar, Wiaan Mulder

--IANS

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