The 5th match of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) commenced on Tuesday, March 25, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The Shubman Gill-led Gujarat Titans (GT) are locking horns with the Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the high-octane match of the Indian Premier League 2025.
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All the Indian Premier League teams have made changes to their setup in one or the other capacity with new players, new captains, and new coaches coming in, thanks to the mega auction.
Gujarat Titans took it to the next level as they have new owners as the original promoter group, CVC Capital Partners, allowed the Torrent Group, a prominent Indian conglomerate, to acquire a 67% majority stake in the franchise, with CVC retaining a 33% minority stake.
Talking about Punjab Kings, they are under the new management of captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting. Iyer won the IPL title last year as captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders while Ricky Ponting has promised to ‘create and become the greatest Punjab Kings team that’s played.’
To achieve their goal, Punjab Kings need to start well and win their tournament opener against Gujarat Titans against whom they have a head-to-head record of 2-3.
IPL 2025: Gujarat Titans win the toss and opt to field
Speaking at the toss, GT skipper Shubman Gill said that the pitch on the offer is a good one, and the dew factor will also come into play. He said:
“We will bowl first. It is a good cricketing wicket. There is some dew here. Just keeping 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 stadium in the world. We have four pacers and two spinners.”
The PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer, meanwhile, said that they also wanted to bowl but will look to deliver despite losing the toss. He said:
“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. 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.”
IPL 2025: List of impact players nominated by GT and PBKS:
Punjab Kings: Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera, Harpreet Brar, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Praveen Dubey
Gujarat Titans: Anuj Rawat, Sherfane Rutherford, Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, Ishant Sharma
IPL 2025: GT vs PBKS – Playing XIs
Gujarat Titans Playing XI: 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
Punjab Kings Playing XI: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (c), Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Suryansh Shedge, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
