Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants met with playoff pressure on the line, with the visitors needing a win to keep their postseason hopes alive. Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to chase, setting up a run chase while also confirming two alterations to the Punjab XI.
Toss and captain’s call
After winning the toss, Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer chose to bowl-first was not the plan he settled on; instead, he elected to chase. Iyer also confirmed that allrounder Marco Jansen and fast bowler Vijaykumar Vyshak would be included in the playing group. They replace Lockie Ferguson and Harpreet Brar.
In a further sign of how the match could unfold, it is very likely that Marcus Stoinis will be used as an Impact Player later in the game.
Lucknow’s pre-match mindset and pitch view
Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant took time to address the fans, apologising for a campaign that has been disappointing. Pant also said he would have preferred to bowl first on Saturday, based on his read of the pitch.
From Pant’s perspective, the surface looked like one of the best batting tracks Lucknow have seen at home in the entire season, and he expected a “high-scoring game.”
Team changes and confirmed XIs
Lucknow Super Giants made several adjustments to their side. Left-arm quick Arjun Tendulkar received a debut, while Arshin Kulkarni came into the XI in place of Mitchell Marsh, who has left the tournament. Mukul Choudhary also earned a spot in the playing lineup.
Three names missed out: Mayank Yadav, Akash Singh, and Shahbaz Ahmed, who featured in LSG’s most recent match. For the Impact Player role, Digvesh Rathi is expected to be the option for Lucknow.
Lucknow entered the game with only two overseas players in their XI.
Lucknow Super Giants (bat-first XI)
- Josh Inglis
- Arshin Kulkarni
- Nicholas Pooran
- Devdutt Padikkal Badoni
- Rishabh Pant
- Romario Samad
- Mukul Choudhary
- Arjun Tendulkar
- Mohammed Shami
- Shahbaz Prince
- Mohsin Khan
LSG sub options
- Shahbaz
- Rathi
- M Siddarth
- Himmat
- Akash
Punjab Kings (bowl-first XI)
- Prabhsimran Arya
- Prabhsimran
- Connelly
- Shreyas
- Shedge
- Shashank
- Omarzai
- Marco Jansen
- Vijaykumar Vyshak
- Arshdeep
- Chahal
PBKS sub options
- Harpreet
- Stoinis
- Bartlett
- Vinod
- Pravin Dubey
