Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans, 4th Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - Commentary

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

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

Shubman Gill: The wicket looks pretty good. Rain on and off over the last two days. Looks like a good wicket to bat on. Last year, we had a pretty good season. Two debutants - Glenn and Ashok Sharma. We've got Jos, Glenn, Rashid and Rabada. He (Buttler) is such an experienced player, I am sure he's going to have a great year for us.

Shreyas Iyer: We're going to bowl first. I firmly believe that chasing gives you a fair idea about how to go about the target. And also, we played a couple of practice games and whatever total was scored, I think it was easily chased down. So, thinking that at the back of my mind, I'm taking that decision. (Message to the team coming into this season) Honestly speaking, we had a phenomenal last season, but it's over now. We start from ball one and the only message I have given them is just be yourselves, go out there and express to the best of your abilities and see to it that you're in the present moment, not thinking way beyond because T20 is such a format where you actually think way ahead of the game. So, the more time you give yourself, the better position you'll be in. Cooper is come in. Stoinis, Bartlett and Marco Jansen.

Marco Jansen | Punjab Kings: (Break after the T20 World Cup) It was good. I spent some time with the family, my sisters, my mom, my dad, obviously my brother as well. He was playing cricket back home. And then yeah, went to the farm for a few days, spent some time in the bush. And then yeah, got back here to India. (On finding success in international and franchise cricket) I think coaching staff has helped me a lot. Dealing with different coaches, having to work with different coaches across the world, picking their brains. And obviously the domestic players here in the IPL last year especially has helped me a lot, Arshdeep in particular and Shreyas Iyer from a captaincy point of view. And then yeah, just for me personally, it's just about always wanna come here and give my best and put the team in a winning position. I think that's (having played cricket in India) helped me a lot in terms of how to play better or be more consistent in Indian conditions. I remember previously when I was younger, I just struggled quite a bit with the bounce and then with the spin as well. And I think spending time here playing in the IPL for numerous years now has helped a lot regarding that.

Kagiso Rabada | Gujarat Titans: It's been a really good camp so far. Working hard out in Ahmedabad. It's time for the first game here, it's been really exciting and hopefully we can start the campaign off with a win. I think the roles coming especially into this team, having played so much cricket you really understand what your role will be. But there's a lot of versatility as well, you can possibly predict what's going to happen. Ahmedabad is known for pace and bounce, we've gone up with the strategy of the seamers, but the roles are pretty evident if you ask me. So it was important to gel together. I think I've fulfilled so many different roles. I will do whatever the team requires, I don't mind, as I've held many roles and will perform where I fit best for the team. I think Haydos (Matthew Hayden) talks more on the bus and Ashish (Nehra) everywhere else. So, there's a lot of chit-chat going on.

This stadium is brilliant and it's a carpet all the way to the middle. The square boundaries are 64m and 70m; the straight boundary is 74m. It's an absolutely beautiful ground and the outfield looks fantastic. The pitch looks good, it does a look a bit dry under the white sort of grass, but it's rock hard. Don't think it'll spin too much, and don't think the conditions will change whether you bat first or second. I think it's a high-scoring wicket, capable of 200+ runs. Two games have been played on this particular pitch and the average score when batting first has been 217. There hasn't been too much dew over the last couple of nights when the guys have been training, don't think the toss will make a big difference. The captain winning the toss might choose to bowl first, but teams batting first have also won. Either way, the toss doesn't matter, reckon Pommie Mbangwa and Michael Clarke, in their pitch report.

The history between these two teams is very close, and they have won an almost equal number of games against each other. In the past, their matches have been full of drama and usually end in a very tight finish. Punjab will try to use their home ground advantage to put pressure on Gujarat’s bowlers early on. On the other hand, Gujarat will rely on their talented all-rounders to control the middle part of the game. The toss will be very important tonight because the team batting second often has a better chance of winning here. We are waiting for the captains to come out for the toss, and the official teams will be updated in a bit.

18:15 Local Time, 12:45 GMT: Welcome to another exciting night of IPL cricket! Tonight, the Punjab Kings (PBKS) take on the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Match 4 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA Stadium. Both teams are known for playing very fast and aggressive cricket, which always makes their games fun to watch. Punjab has a very strong batting lineup that loves to hit big sixes, while Gujarat is famous for being very calm and winning matches even in the very last over. The fans in Mullanpur are ready for a big game, and both sides will be desperate to win today to get a good start in the tournament.

Gujarat Titans Squad: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia, M Shahrukh Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Jason Holder, Luke Wood, Washington Sundar, Tom Banton, Kulwant Khejroliya, Anuj Rawat, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra, Arshad Khan, Gurnoor Brar, Nishant Sindhu, Ashok Sharma

Punjab Kings Squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Ben Dwarshuis, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Lockie Ferguson, Vishnu Vinod, Praveen Dubey, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Nehal Wadhera, Harpreet Brar, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash, Vishal Nishad