NEW DELHI: Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and chose to bowl first against Sunrisers Hyderabad, led by Ishan Kishan, in their IPL match on Sunday. Lucknow, who had opened the campaign with a defeat to Delhi Capitals, also made a single alteration to their playing XI, with Manimaran Siddharth coming in for Anrich Nortje.
Explaining the decision, Pant said they were targeting a first-innings bowling effort and believed the pitch offered something for bowlers. He added that Hyderabad’s batting was their biggest strength, which is why letting them bat first could still create pressure during the chase. Pant also noted that facing similar challenges at the venue is not new for them, but stressed that the side capable of playing the better cricket would come out on top.
On the wicket, Pant indicated that it looked like a decent surface but expected it to become more difficult after the powerplay, with the ball likely to grip and scoring to get tougher as the game progressed. He confirmed the only change as Siddharth replacing Nortje and said the team would assess whether they would open in a particular way as the match unfolded.
SRH make two changes; Livingstone and Harshal included
Sunrisers Hyderabad, who had lost their first match of the season to Royal Challengers Bengaluru before responding with a win against Kolkata Knight Riders, introduced two updates to their lineup. Kishan handed a spot to England all-rounder Liam Livingstone, who was bought for Rs 13 crore at the IPL 2026 auction, and also brought in Harshal Patel.
Kishan said he was pleased to be playing in Hyderabad, highlighting the support from the home crowd. He said there were only two changes, with Livingstone and Harshal Patel both coming into the XI. Kishan also pointed out that Harshal tends to bowl well in Hyderabad and felt Livingstone would get the chance to use his off-spin effectively against left-handed batters.
Speaking on the key to success in T20 cricket, Kishan stressed that execution matters most. He said the team needed to remain calm, focus on keeping the run flow under control, and carry out the bowling plan ball by ball. For Hyderabad, he said it was important to secure those two points, while also taking the tournament one match at a time and doing their best on the day.
Teams
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Jaydev Unadkat.
Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (w/c), Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Manimaran Siddharth, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Digvesh Singh Rathi, and Prince Yadav.
Impact substitutes
Sunrisers Hyderabad Impact subs: Eshan Malinga, Salil Arora, David Payne, Shivam Mavi, Zeeshan Ansari.
Lucknow Super Giants Impact subs: Ayush Badoni, Matthew Breetzke, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anrich Nortje, Himmat Singh.
