Punjab Kings won the toss and elected to field first against Gujarat Titans in their IPL 2026 clash in New Chandigarh.
PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer said he preferred to chase, citing favourable conditions and the ease of run chases in practice matches.
“It’s a new season, and we start from ball one again,” he said. Punjab Kings have named Cooper Connolly, Marcus Stoinis, Xavier Bartlett, and Marco Jansen as their overseas players.
Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill said he was content to bat first, noting that the wicket looked good for scoring.
“This year is about pushing that extra five per cent,” he said.
GT have fielded Jos Buttler, Glenn Phillips, Rashid Khan, and Kagiso Rabada as their overseas contingent, while Ashok Sharma makes his debut.
Last season’s runners-up, Punjab Kings, face a strong Gujarat Titans side led by Gill, whose top order has been among the most effective in the league.
Both teams made the playoffs last year, with GT losing to Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator, while PBKS were beaten by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final. Notably, PBKS managed just two wins at home last season, including one against GT.
The Mullanpur venue features relatively larger boundaries compared to other IPL grounds, placing greater emphasis on running between the wickets. The pitch, however, appears hard and fast, which should aid batting.
Teams:
Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak (Impact Sub).
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler, M Shahrukh Khan, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna (Impact Player).