The assault from Rinku Singh on Sunday evening in Ahmedabad will still be hurting the Gujarat Titans.

It’s obviously not easy to just brush off a defeat, especially after conceding a humongous 29 runs in the deciding over of the game, the ignominy that the defending champions suffered against the Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous game.

However, instead of still smarting from that shocking defeat, the Titans will do well to keep the loss aside for a moment, take guard afresh and look forward to their clash with Punjab Kings at Mohali on Thursday.

Regular captain Hardik Pandya, who missed the previous game as he was unwell, is expected to be back in the XI. His return will take pressure off ace leg-spinner Rashid Khan as captaincy did take some toll on his bowling last Sunday before he bounced back with a hat-trick.

It’ll also be interesting to see whether they repose faith in Yash Dayal, who conceded those five sixes in a row to Rinku, or bench the left-arm quick and accommodate left-arm spinner R. Sai Kishore.

Opener Wriddhiman Saha hurt his ribs in the Knight Riders game and couldn’t don the keeper’s gloves thereafter, with KS Bharat replacing him behind the stumps. The Titans will have to look for an opening partner for Shubman Gill if Saha isn’t match-fit.

For Punjab Kings, coming off a defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad, captain Shikhar Dhawan’s current form is an advantage, while they may also field England white-ball specialist Liam Livingstone in their XI. Kings will hope their batters perform better than they did against the Sunrisers.