Lucknow Super Giants Impact Subs - Akash Singh, M Siddharth, Ravi Bishnoi, David Miller, Arshin Kulkarni

Teams:

Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, William ORourke

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

Rishabh Pant: Would have bowled first.

Gujarat Titans have won the toss and have opted to field

Shubman Gill: We'll bowl first, looks like a good wicket. Will be good to have a target on the board.

Gujarat Titans have won the toss and have opted to field

Gujarat Titans are wearing a lavender kit today, in support of their cancer awareness program.

Pitch report: "61m to the western side, 67m to the eastern side, 70m hit down the ground. The surface here has been the most consistent throughout the tournament in terms of pace, bounce. It has been a brilliant surface to bat on. It has produced runs, runs and more runs. Do we expect the same tonight?," says Simon Doull. But I think so, let's ask Murali Kartik. Simon, "I would think you want to take the new nut and have a roll because it looks green from a bit of distance. This is pitch No. 5 and GT have both their games on it. Average first innings total is 210 and average total in 192 but the important thing is team batting first has won more. It's the blacksoil from Odisha. It's pretty hard and rolled in. Fair sprinkling of grass. There will be something for the pacers but I still think runs galore. Won't be a bad option to bat first," opines Kartik

Sai Kishore: Every game in the IPL feels like a dream come true. Always important to cherish and embrace it. I’ve just tried to play for the team, Ashish Nehra and Shubman have created an environment where everyone feels secure and can express themselves. As a T20 bowler, you need to be ready to bowl all 20 overs, and that’s what I train and prepare for. Very happy with the opportunities I’m getting to bowl. Ashu Pa (Ashish Nehra) is hands on with the players, his experience matters a lot to us on what to do and more importantly what not to do. In the IPL, no game is easy. Important to finish in the top two so the talk amongst the team has been the same.

Opponents Lucknow Super Giants were dumped out of the competition after they suffered a defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous game. They would now hope to atleast end the tournament on a high with wins in their last two league games. Their skipper Rishabh Pant has had a season to forget, averaging 12.27 in IPL 2025. Their openers Mitch Marsh and Aiden Markram have been amongst the runs, but they haven't performed consistently enough. Nicholas Pooran had a great start to the season but has fizzled out since then. On the bowling front, it has been Digvesh Rathi who was been a revelation this season, but he is suspended for this game.

18:29 Local Time, 12:59 GMT, 18:29 IST:

Preview

Winners in their debut season in 2022, runners-up in 2023, group stage exit in 2024 and come 2025, the Gujarat Titans are back in the playoffs with an eye on their second title. On paper, their batting looks top-heavy but such has been the dominance of their top order that the middle order hasn't been called into action too much.

Prasidh Krishna's breakthrough season has been the backbone of GT's bowling efforts with the lanky pacer being the all-phase wicket-taking option for skipper Shubman Gill. Sai Kishore, despite being underused in a few games, has shouldered the spin attack to compensate for Rashid's lean patch. All this shows how GT have moulded themselves into a well-knit unit that doesn't depend on a single individual to get the job done. Losing Jos Buttler for the playoffs is a massive blow but for these league games, he along with Gill and Orange Cap holder Sai Sudharsan continue to be a nightmare for bowling attacks.

Having qualified for the playoffs, GT have their sights set firmly on a top-two finish with two home games to go. Winning both games will lock a top-two berth, while one win may also be enough as long as one among RCB and PBKS drop a game. The first of those will be against a struggling LSG outfit that never really got going this season.

Rishabh Pant's struggles have been so extreme that the wicket-keeper batter has often appeared to be feeling the pressure of the price tag and captaincy. It hasn't helped his cause that the bowling unit was hurt by injuries right from the start of the season and it is the emergence of Digvesh Rathi that has covered some of the cracks in LSG's bowling. Ravi Bishnoi has struggled while Nicholas Pooran's early season form has vanished, leaving LSG outside of the top-four.

With a couple of games to go, LSG will hope to bow out on a positive note while also testing their bench strength. The one-match suspension for Rathi means that the bowling is even more crippled now. Against a marauding GT top-order, the task seems cut out for Pant and co.

When: Gujarat Titans vs Lucknow Super Giants, on May 22, at 7.30 PM LOCAL

Where: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

What to expect: Pitches in Ahmedabad have been a batter's paradise but the pace and bounce on offer has also meant that the pacers have had their moments. The hit-the-deck kind of bowlers have found success, like Krishna, but it has overall been a happy hunting ground for batters. Expect more of the same.

Head to head: GT 4-2 LSG. The last two encounters, in 2023 and 2024, were won by LSG.

Team Watch

Gujarat Titans

Injuries/Unavailability: There are no injuries or availability issues reported from the GT camp for this game.

Tactics and matchups: LSG's downfall this season has coincided with the dip in form for Pooran. The moment he arrives at the crease on Thursday, Gill might want to unleash Rashid Khan or Kagiso Rabada at him. Against the Afghanistan leg spinner, he has scored 87 off 72, getting out thrice. Rabada has dismissed the left-hander four times in 42 deliveries, conceding 55 runs.

Probable XII: Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj.

Lucknow Super Giants

Injuries/Unavailability: Digvesh Rathi is unavailable for this fixture after copping a one-match ban following yet another Code of Conduct breach in the previous fixture.

Tactics and Matchups: Aiden Markram has been a reveation for LSG this season. He might be the team's trump card against majority of GT's bowling attack. He has scored runs briskly against Mohammed Siraj (34 off 23), Kagiso Rabada (35 off 24, 1 dismissal) and Prasidh Krishna (24 off 12, 1 dismissal).

Probable XII: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(c&wk), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, William ORourke

Did you know:

- Siraj has a dot-ball percentage of 53.2 in the PowerPlay in IPL 2025. This tally is bettered only by Josh Hazlewood.

- LSG have lost 17 wickets to spin this season - the second-lowest after GT (11).

Squads:

Gujarat Titans Squad: Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Dasun Shanaka, Gerald Coetzee, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Karim Janat, Kulwant Khejroliya, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra, Gurnoor Brar, Nishant Sindhu

Lucknow Super Giants Squad: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, Digvesh Singh Rathi, William ORourke, David Miller, Himmat Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Manimaran Siddharth, Prince Yadav, Akash Maharaj Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Aryan Juyal, RS Hangargekar, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Arshin Kulkarni