GT vs KKR Toss & Playing XI, IPL 2026: Kolkata Wins Toss and Opts to Bat First in Match 25

Gujarat Titans face Kolkata Knight Riders at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad in match 25 of the IPL 2026. The two teams enter this contest from vastly different ends of the table. GT have had an inconsistent beginning to their season, with 2 wins and 2 losses to show so far. KKR have not had the beginning that they would have envisioned to this campaign and are yet to get off the mark, registering only 1 point after a rain affected game.

GT have had flashes of brilliance. Their bowling attack has been reasonably competent and Jos Buttler has found form, providing some stability to their top order. However the middle order still has concerns over it, if and when wickets are lost early and playing at home, GT will be looking to take advantage of that and add to KKR’s problems. For KKR, this game represents an important fixture; another loss will surely consign them to an early exit, whereas Gujarat will look to find consistency and keep themselves on track in their pursuit of playoff qualification.

On the other hand, KKR have failed in nearly every aspect of the game to this point. The batting has failed to click, with their overseas duo of Cameron Green and Finn Allen not contributing at all and apart from Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi only the two batters have looked like they are in a T20 game and that is a concerning sign. Even those two contributions came from relatively slow starts and at a slower pace in the middle order, costing KKR in recent games. The bowling has also been inconsistent, with Sunil Narine being the only bowler to hold up one end and injuries to the bowling unit have compounded their troubles. KKR look completely devoid of confidence as their losses keep accumulating.

At the toss, Kolkata have won and chose to bat first. 

Here's what the captains said at the toss:

Shubman Gill:

"Honestly, we would have bowled first. I always feel the weather is getting a bit hotter, so there might be some dew around. We haven’t seen it in the past 3-4 matches that we’ve played, but as we get deeper into the tournament, with the weather getting hotter, there might be some dew. Even in the last match, I think our batting collapsed in the middle, we lost five wickets from overs 11 to 15. Otherwise, it should have been a pretty comfortable chase against Rajasthan Royals. It’s about doing the simple things consistently as a group. It’s about doing the small things as well as you can. That’s something we always talk about in team meetings, keep the simple things simple. Don’t complicate it too much because it’s such a technical game. The more you complicate it, the more difficult it becomes. We got the same team."

Ajinkya Rahane:

"We’outside the leg-stump look to bat first. We just want our batters to play freely, with freedom. The kind of tournament we’ve had so far, we’ve tried everything, chasing targets, batting first as well. I thought giving that freedom to the batters and then defending the total would be a good approach. That (batting first is a good option) is what I got to know. But again, sometimes you don’t have to depend too much on data and stats. It’s all about what you feel as a team and what you strongly want to do. As I said, the kind of tournament we’ve had so far, we just want to turn it around. I thought batting first is a good option. It’s all about, if you’re doing well, people will say good things about you. If you’re not, then they will criticise you. It’s part and parcel of any sportsperson’s life. It’s about staying confident as a team, backing each other in tough times, that’s what matters. We always talk about character in the team and I think we have really good characters. We just want to focus on our strengths, play good cricket. T20 is all about momentum, winning small moments. Today, we just want to play fearless cricket and stay in the moment. Just one change. Tim Seifert comes in place of Finn Allen."

GT vs KKR Playing XI

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ashok Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

GT Impact subs: Jason Holder, Shahrukh Khan, Manav Suthar, Kulwant Khejroliya, Anuj Rawat

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Tim Seifert, Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi

KKR Impact subs: Varun Chakaravarthy, Finn Allen, Tejasvi Dahiya, Navdeep Saini, Manish Pandey