Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals, Qualifier 1 - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

He's in the mood. THE BOSS IS IN THE MOOD. Jos Buttler starts off with a couple of boundaries in the first over. This pitch looks like a proper belter. Be warned, you are in for big runs ..

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Quite an unwanted stat this: 13th toss lost in 15 matches this season by Sanju Samson

Teams:

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Obed McCoy

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade, Hardik Pandya(c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami

This really is no surprise, it's a fresh pitch, a fresh venue, and nobody knows how it is likely to play out. You had to bowl first. Also, Alzarri Joseph has come in for Lockie Ferguson. Again, given how he went in Gujarat's last game against RCB, this was coming. Rajasthan are unchanged.

TOSS UPDATE:Gujarat Titans win it, and they will BOWL FIRST

Pitch report by Matthew Hayden: Short square boundaries here. It's got lots of grass cover and that means the quicks will be in play and expect it carry nicely for bowlers like Boult and individuals like that. I don't think there's going to be a lot of turn. Not much of wear and tear. Expect round about 170-180 to be a par score and expect the captains to have a bowl.

Okay, let's start you off. Here's our preview. Here's our ball-by-ball commentary page, and here's a statistical analysis of what has worked and what hasn't in this year's IPL.

Rajasthan Royals, meanwhile, have been super-clinical this time around. They usually are the team who start strong, slip away in the middle, and then get desperate at the end. Not this year. They've covered most bases. They're happy to go funky in their batting order, their spinners have spun a pretty unplayable web, and Buttler, well, has been Buttler.

Gujarat Titans: They are the team to beat. On paper you could find a ton of flaws in their XI, but somehow, they've found someone new to surprise in every game. They're playing a fearless brand of cricket, and their bowling is to die for. Again, they are the team to beat.

18:30 local time | THE BIG QUALIFIER -- The end is finally within sight. Two months, 70 matches, 10 teams, and we're finally into the final week. We're also finally out of Mumbai and Pune, and we're finally down to serious business. But this isn't a knockout. It's a pre-knockout. It's the one where you have an extra life. And it's the one where the two best sides of the league clash. It's the first ticket to Motera ..