Ahmedabad, Apr 16 (IANS): Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to bowl first against defending champions Gujarat Titans in match No 23 of IPL 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, here on Sunday.

Sunday's game is also a re-match of last year's final, where Gujarat emerged triumphant over Rajasthan to get their first IPL trophy. While Gujarat enter the match on the back of a six-wicket victory over Punjab Kings in Mohali, Rajasthan arrive after beating Chennai Super Kings by three runs at Chepauk.  

After winning the toss, Samson said left-arm pacer Trent Boult, who missed previous game against Chennai due to a niggle, is coming into the playing eleven in place of fast-bowling all-rounder Jason Holder, with Riyan Parag also getting a game.

"Padikkal is playing if he gets to bat, I am not sure. We'll keep learning about it (impact sub). I'd like to score some runs today," he said.

Gujarat skipper Hardik Pandya said all-rounder Vijay Shankar is unavailable due to illness and is replaced by Abhinav Manohar in the playing eleven.

"It has been a belter so far. It's a good toss to lose, don't mind batting or bowling first. For us, it's important how we use it (impact player)," said Hardik.

"We'll use it only when required. It's my home state, a lot of love, everyone comes here and supports us, exciting," he added.

Playing XIs:

Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (captain), Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma

Substitutes: Josh Little, Jayant Yadav, Noor Ahmad, KS Bharat, Dasun Shanaka

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (captain & wicketkeeper), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sandeep Sharma and Adam Zampa

Substitutes: Devdutt Padikkal, Murugan Ashwin, Donovan Ferreira, Navdeep Saini, Joe Root