Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and chose to bowl to Sunrisers Hyderabad under overcast conditions at Hyderabad. With the surface expected to suit the bowlers early, both sides also reshuffled their line-ups ahead of the IPL clash on pitch number 2.
Key takeaways
- Pant opted to field first after winning the toss, citing conditions that should help bowlers early on.
- LSG made multiple bowling-focused changes, with Digvesh Rathi, M Siddharth and Avesh Khan brought in.
- SRH responded by adding Liam Livingstone and Harshal Patel, while Salil Arora was omitted.
- The game is set for pitch No. 2, where a prior afternoon contest saw SRH post 286/ and RR reply with 242.
- LSG’s chasing impact option is expected to be Ayush Badoni, while SRH’s impact bench includes Eshan Malinga and David Payne among others.
Captain’s call and LSG’s bowling reshuffle
Under cloud cover in Hyderabad, Pant’s toss decision was clear: Lucknow would bowl first against SRH. He suggested the wicket could be useful for bowlers as well as for hitting later, adding that scoring would likely become tougher after the initial overs.
Speaking after winning the toss, Pant said, “It looks like a good wicket for sure but at the same time, there is something for the bowlers as well. After the powerplay it will be harder to score.”
Asked whether he would keep opening, Pant gave a non-committal answer: “We’ll see.” In the playing XI, he was listed at No. 3, with LSG announcing a set of changes aimed at strengthening their spin and pace options.
For this match, LSG included legspinner Digvesh Rathi, left-arm spinner M Siddharth and fast bowler Avesh Khan. Shahbaz Ahmed, Anrich Nortje and Mohsin Khan were the names making way. For the chase, Ayush Badoni was flagged as the likely Impact Player.
SRH team adjustments and ground details
Sunrisers Hyderabad also altered their squad. They brought in Liam Livingstone and Harshal Patel, with Salil Arora left out of the starting combination. SRH also had a selection constraint for overseas pace: only one of Eshan Malinga and David Payne can be used, and both were available on the Impact Player bench.
The venue is pitch No. 2. In the most recent afternoon match on this strip during IPL 2025, SRH piled up 286, while Rajasthan Royals responded with 242. Boundary measurements were also noted: square gaps of 63 and 68 metres, and the straight boundary measuring 75 metres.
In terms of form, LSG were set to continue their campaign after dropping their opening match of the season against DC. SRH, meanwhile, were coming into the fixture on the back of a victory over KKR at Eden Gardens, following an earlier loss to RCB in Bengaluru.
Playing XI and Impact Player options
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Travis Head, 3 Ishan Kishan (capt & wk), 4 Heinrich Klaasen, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Aniket Verma, 7 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 8 Harsh Dubey, 9 Shivang Kumar, 10 Harshal Patel, 11 Jaydev Unadkat
Impact Player options: Eshan Malinga, David Payne, Salil Arora, Shivam Mavi, Zeeshan Ansari
Lucknow Super Giants: 1 Mitchell Marsh, 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Abdul Samad, 6 Mukul Choudhary, 7 Avesh Khan, 8 Mohammad Shami, 9 Prince Yadav, 10 Digvesh Rathi, 11 M Siddharth
Impact Player options: Anrich Nortje, Himmant Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ayush Badoni, Matthew Breetzke
