IPL 2025: Kolkata Knight Riders wins toss, opt to bowl against Gujarat Titans; Gurbaz replaces Quinton de Kock

KOLKATA: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to bowl against Gujarat Titans at the Eden Gardens on Monday in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

Gujarat Titans have been flying high in the ongoing edition, sitting at the top with 10 points and a superior net run rate. A victory will take them to 12 points, making them the first team to do so in the 18th edition of the cash-rich league.

Toss @KKRiders won the toss and elected to bowl against @gujarat_titans in Kolkata.

Updates https://t.co/TwaiwD5D6n#TATAIPL | #KKRvGT pic.twitter.com/Rof135hqli

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 21, 2025

Meanwhile, the defending champions have enjoyed success in patches but overall have struggled to find consistency. Their hopes to defend the title are slowly fading away as they sit in the seventh spot with six points from seven fixtures. KKR have made a couple of tweaks to their squad, which features the inclusion of Rahmanullah Gurbaz in place of misfiring Quinton de Kock and Moeen Ali replacing Anrich Nortje.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane confirmed that Gurbaz and Moeen Ali have been included in the playing XI and said, “We are going to bowl first. The pitch is on the drier side; we’ll get an idea when we bowl. All the players are working hard. It’s all about being positive. Not too worried about the middle-order. Gurbaz comes in, and Moeen Ali comes in as well.”

Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill said during the time of the toss, “I don’t think there’ll be any dew. Everyone has been contributing with wickets. (On Rashid Khan) The skill-set that he brings and the energy on the field, any captain would love to have him.”

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy

Kolkata Knight Riders Impact Subs: Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy

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

Gujarat Titans Impact Subs: Ishant Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Karim Janat, Arshad Khan. (ANI)