IPL 2026: DC win toss, choose to bowl first against GT; Shubman Gill returns

NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals (DC) won the toss and opted to bowl first against Gujarat Titans (GT) in both teams’ third fixture of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, on Wednesday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. In what comes as good news for GT, captain Shubman Gill marks his return after missing the team’s previous match owing to a muscle spasm.

After winning the toss, DC captain Axar Patel said they would bowl first, citing recent success while chasing and possible moisture on a fresh, rain-affected pitch. He confirmed that the DC will play an unchanged team.

Toss @DelhiCapitals have won the toss and elected to field first against @gujarat_titans

Updates https://t.co/oOdPR1oSeP#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #DCvGT pic.twitter.com/0TZ5QbxBHm

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 8, 2026

“We will bowl first. We’ve chased well in the last two matches and this is a fresh wicket. It’s been raining; there could be some moisture. Bowl first, have a look at the wicket, restrict them and chase down the score. We look at the match-ups, making it as difficult as possible for the batters and choose the best possible bowlers. Same 11 for us,” Axar Patel said at the toss presentation.

Delhi Capitals have been in outstanding form, winning both their matches so far in the tournament. They began their IPL 2026 campaign with a win over Lucknow Super Giants and then followed it up with another dominant win over the Mumbai Indians.

In contrast, the Gujarat Titans have struggled to find momentum in the tournament so far. They suffered a three-wicket loss to Punjab Kings in their opener, then went down to Rajasthan Royals by six runs in a last-over thriller. Heading into the clash against DC, they will be eager to secure their first points of the campaign.

Delhi Capitals playing 11: KL Rahul(w), Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Vipraj Nigam, Axar Patel(c), David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar.

Impact Subs: Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi Dar, Sameer Rizvi, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair.

Gujarat Titans playing 11: Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Ashok Sharma.

Impact Subs: Prasidh Krishna, Jason Holder, Manav Suthar, Jayant Yadav, Anuj Rawat. (ANI)