Punjab Kings head coach Ricky Ponting has played down talk that off-field chatter or social media controversies have played a role in the side’s slide. Ahead of a must-win IPL 2026 meeting against Lucknow Super Giants, the former Australia captain insisted the problem has been rooted in performances on the field.
Ponting on the cause of the slump
- Ponting believes external noise has not disrupted the team.
- He said he is not heavily active on social media and stays largely unaware of online drama.
- The coach attributed the slide to on-field lapses rather than distractions.
- He highlighted that small moments—such as specific overs or balls—could have swung multiple close games.
“I don’t think anything externally has interrupted us as a unit,” Ponting said. He added that he is not a big social media user and that, from what has been circulating, he is likely unaware of much of it.
When asked what he can directly influence, Ponting pointed to preparation and behaviour: how the group prepares, how it carries itself, and how it plays. In his view, those are the levers that matter most in getting results back on track.
Ponting also traced the downturn to the washout against Kolkata Knight Riders, stating that problems started from that point. He argued that the margins in several matches were not as far off as the scorelines may suggest.
“From that moment on we’ve been a little bit off,” he said. Ponting stressed that there were “small things” that could realistically have turned the outcome of “another three or four” games, but Punjab were left with the responsibility of those missed opportunities.
Alongside the critique, Ponting offered a clear positive in the captaincy department. He praised Shreyas Iyer’s leadership, describing it as one of the key bright spots during the campaign.
“He has been brilliant,” Ponting said, noting that he had always wanted to work with Iyer again after their time together in Delhi. He further said Iyer has contributed strongly with the bat and has shown exceptional leadership within the group, calling him a mature cricketer and a mature leader.
LSG’s season situation
Lucknow, meanwhile, have endured a difficult IPL 2026 campaign and are already out of the playoff race. With eight points from 13 matches, the franchise currently sits at the foot of the points table.
Even when LSG have shown flashes of quality, they have struggled to hold consistent standards in both batting and bowling. Ponting’s Punjab will be hoping that inconsistency continues, especially during the periods when matches are typically decided.
LSG have also managed only two wins from their last 10 games, making their overall run feel underwhelming. In their previous outing, they were beaten by Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in Jaipur, in a game that was largely shaped by teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Still, Lucknow will take encouragement from the Ekana Stadium, where they have looked more settled. They have won both of their most recent matches there—against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Chennai Super Kings—giving them a platform to end their season on a more positive note.
PBKS still alive, but under pressure
For Punjab Kings, the context is sharper. They remain mathematically in the playoff hunt, yet their recent form has placed them under intense pressure.
After a strong stretch earlier in the competition, PBKS have suffered a dramatic dip and now arrive on the back of six successive defeats. That skid has badly dented their prospects of finishing inside the top four.
Even with the losing run, Punjab are still positioned fifth with 13 points, which keeps the door slightly open. However, they cannot afford further errors, making the contest in Lucknow a virtual must-win encounter—another defeat would almost certainly end their playoff hopes, while a win keeps them firmly in contention for the final phase of the league stage.
Batting targets: Pant and Pooran
Nicholas Pooran will also be looking to restore his rhythm. He has scored only 87 runs across his last four innings, and will want a stronger finish to the season in front of the home crowd.
Skipper Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, has had a disappointing campaign with just one fifty so far. He will be eager to end the tournament on a positive note as Punjab and Lucknow chase key outcomes.
In the bowling ranks, it remains to be seen whether experienced pacer Mohammed Shami returns after missing the previous match.
Squads
LSG: Rishabh Pant (c), Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Arshin Kulkarni, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Mayank Prabhu Yadav, Wanindu Hasaranga, Anrich Nortje, Josh Inglis, Mohsin Khan, Naman Tiwari, Akash Maharaj Singh, Mukul Choudhary, Manimaran Siddharth, Arjun Sachin Tendulkar, Akshat Raghuwanshi.
PBKS: Shreyas Iyer (c), Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Mitchell Owen, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Musheer Khan, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Suryansh Shedge, Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett, Yuzvendra Chahal, Lockie Ferguson, Harpreet Brar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Pyla Avinash, Yash Thakur, Harnoor Singh, Praveen Dubey, Vishal Nishad.
Marsh and Inglis as LSG’s bright spot
One of the standout positives for Lucknow this season has been the top-order impact of the Australian duo Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis. Their ability to set the tone has given LSG a platform to build innings.
In the previous game, the pair combined for a 109-run stand in just 8.2 overs, and they will again be central to LSG’s chances. If Lucknow are to close the tournament on a high, getting those early overs right will be critical.
PBKS captaincy and middle-order momentum
As for Punjab, their captain Shreyas Iyer has also seen a steep drop during the losing streak. After being among the leading run-getters for much of the season, he has managed only one fifty across the six defeats.
The middle order has struggled to regain control at crucial stages as well. The group that once produced a memorable chase against Delhi Capitals has lost momentum at a time when Punjab needed it most.
Punjab’s bowling has leaked runs across both ends of the innings, and fielding issues—including sloppy work and dropped chances—have compounded the damage during key phases. Those factors have made it harder to recover when matches tightened.
Top-order struggles derail Punjab Kings
Before worrying about scenarios and permutations, Punjab need to rediscover form across departments. Their aggressive top order—Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh and Cooper Connolly—has not delivered the explosive starts that defined the first half of the campaign.
Priyansh has managed only one fifty in his last seven innings, and he was dismissed for a duck in the most recent match. Prabhsimran has also lacked consistency, with only one fifty from his last five innings.
Connolly has shown brief signs of promise, but has not yet turned those starts into innings substantial enough to change the direction of games.
Punjab’s turnaround mission
Punjab Kings will need something special if they are to arrest a disastrous slide and keep their playoff hopes alive when they take on already-eliminated Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday. The scale of the challenge is large because their campaign has unravelled dramatically since a record 265-run chase against Delhi Capitals on April 25.
After remaining unbeaten through the midway stage and looking like genuine title contenders with six wins in seven matches, Punjab’s fortunes have completely shifted. They have now crashed to six consecutive defeats, leaving their place in the top four hanging by a thread.
Playoff equation tightens for PBKS
With Punjab currently placed fifth, their path forward is complicated. They not only need to defeat LSG in their final league game, but must also rely on results from Sunday’s double-header fixtures to stay in the playoff hunt.
The Shreyas Iyer-led side will be hoping that both Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders lose their respective matches against Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals. If Rajasthan beat Mumbai, Punjab’s hopes would be officially over, while a KKR win over Delhi would open the possibility of net run rate becoming decisive.
At present, PBKS hold a slight advantage in net run rate over KKR.
Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the IPL 2026 match between Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. PBKS hold a narrow 4–3 advantage head-to-head overall, including a 2–1 record at the Ekana Stadium.
Punjab have also dominated the rivalry since 2025, winning all three meetings. That run includes the reverse fixture in Mullanpur, where they posted a massive total of 254.
