IPL 2022: RR vs GT Toss, Playing 11 Update, Pitch Report, Pre-Match Comments: Samson invites Hardik to bat

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Mumbai, April 14: Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson on Thursday (April 14) won his first toss of the season and invited Gujarat Titans' captain Hardik Pandya to bat first in match 24 in IPL 2022 here at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy.

Both the teams have made changes to their playing eleven. RR will be missing the services of their star pacer Trent Boult, who has a niggle. GT, on the other hand, have made a couple of changes to their playing eleven by bringing in debutant Yash Dayal and Vijay Shankar.

After winning the toss, Samson said, "We'd like to bowl first here. We did a very good job to win the game with dew condition and losing the toss but I'd like to use the conditions. Yesterday, Trent Boult had a small niggle and isn't available for today's game. Jimmy Neesham is replacing him."

"We would have liked to bowl first as well but I wouldn't mind batting first as well. It's always good to get responsibility, I have always been a player who has enjoyed taking responsibilities, taking things on my shoulder. It helps me to get better as a cricketer and as a person as well. The boys are pretty chilled out, and the supporting staff is nice. Right now, we are going in the honeymoon phase and I'd like to contribute. I know I always have two departments to contribute to. Even if I am having a bad day with my bat, I can still contribute with the ball and vice versa. We were 5-10 short, but we could have been a little more disciplined with our bowling. I will not be too strict on the bowlers, they are trying their best and we are there to enjoy the sport. Two changes, Yash Dayal comes in for Darshan Nalkande and Vijay (Shankar) comes in for Sai Sudharshan," said Gujarat Titans' captain Hardik Pandya.

Matthew Hayden with pitch report: "This isn't a new wicket, it's been used once before. It is smack bang in the middle of this beautiful stadium. One side's 73m, the other is 70m - the dimensions are very similar. It's not a huge ground as well. The pitch is an absolute beauty. It's got a fairly strong bit of grass in and around the hard lengths that the bowlers love to bowl on. It's very hard, it's got a little sheen to it and doesn't expect to be any different other than a lot of runs that are piled on tonight. 120 sixes have been scored at this ground in just eight games, that's extraordinary. 46% of the sixes have been downtown. This wicket is very good, it's got true, even pace. The quicks and the spinners got to be around those stumps, otherwise, they are going to go on the journey. Expect a lot of runs tonight, I think this is going to be a cracking game."

Jos Buttler, Orange Cap holder: "Not too much especially this early on in this season, it's a nice confidence booster, obviously it's the first time I have worn this (orange) cap. So I am very grateful for that, enjoying that but it's very early in the season and the focus is on the next game and try to score some more runs. For me, it (opening) is the best place to bat in T20 cricket. It gives you the most amount of balls to try and affect the game. Every position in T20 is vital and just because you face the most balls doesn't mean that it is the vital position. But individually for me, it really suits my game. The role clarity and consistency so far has been fantastic, lots of guys at different moments have been standing up and putting their hand forward. We are trying to follow a clear gameplan and we are enjoying each other's company. We've got quite a bit of experience in the group, utilising that to the best of our ability. It's not that relevant (100 against MI at the same venue), it's in the past. It's nice to score a few runs early on but you approach each game with a fresh mentality. New opposition, got to work out the conditions and play accordingly."

Matthew Wade, GT opener: "Early days in the competition for me after a long lay-off. It has been challenging. The ball has moved in the air a little more than expected. The depth of the Indian talent and the star power of the foreign players makes it one of the strongest tournaments going around. As a whole, our batting group hasn't batted well. We were a little bit disappointed in the last game with the batters. Our bowlers have done well throughout. We got away with one game before that. Yeah, Hardik leads from the front. He has been terrific with the bat. He has been bowling two crucial overs in the powerplay. Quite a relaxed atmosphere and it is refreshing. We just got to get a good start. Shubman has been terrific. We need to have someone batting well in the last five which we haven't done so far."

Playing XIs:

Gujarat Titans: Matthew Wade(w), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya(c), David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Yash Dayal.

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Rassie van der Dussen, Shimron Hetmyer, James Neesham, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.