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The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have won the toss and decided to field first in the 51st match of IPL 2023 against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, May 7.
With KL Rahul ruled out of the competition, LSG made a strategic change, adding Quinton de Kock at the top in place of Naveen ul Haq. GT also had the make one forced change, with fast bowler Joshua Little busy with national duties for Ireland. The Titans made a like-for-like replacement, bringing in Alzarri Joseph.
Here is the list of substitute players for the match:
Lucknow Super Giants: Ayush Badoni, Amit Mishra, Daniel Sams, Yudhvir Singh, and Prerak Mankad.
Gujarat Titans: Alzarri Joseph, Dasun Shanaka, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, and Jayant Yadav.
GT were the first team to use the Impact Player sub, bringing in Alzarri Joseph in place of Shubman Gill. Ayush Badoni came in as an Impact Player sub for LSG in place of Yash Thakur.
Speaking at the toss, LSG's stand-in skipper Krunal Pandya stressed that they would like to chase down a total, which remains their strong suit.
"We will bowl first," Krunal said. "It's a dream come true for us, leading our respective sides. Overall the wicket will play the same. We have a good batting side, and we fancy our chance to chase down the total.
"We have played good cricket, and we stand at a good stage in the points table. (Quinton) de Kock is in, Naveen misses out."
GT skipper Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, sounded a bit emotional, saying that their father would have been proud seeing both his sons leading IPL sides. The ace all-rounder also urged his side to play "good cricket" without worrying about the result.
"We would have batted," Hardik said. "I got what I wanted. It's an emotional day, our father would have been proud. This is something happening for the first time, so our family is proud. One Pandya will definitely win today.
"It's about expressing ourselves and not worry about the result. The fear of failure might creep in, but we need to play good cricket. One forced change, (Joshua) Little is out as he has to play for Ireland, Alzarri (Joseph) comes in for him."
GT vs LSG Playing XIs
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (w), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya (c), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, and Mohammed Shami.
Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock, Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya (c), Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Swapnil Singh, Yash Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, and Avesh Khan.
