Punjab Kings (PBKS) suffered a big blow right ahead of their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday (April 15). PBKS' regular skipper Shikhar Dhawan is sitting out of the all-important clash against KL Rahul's men as he picked up a shoulder niggle.
Sam Curran, who has been appointed as PBKS's stand-in captain during the toss revealed, “Shikhar picked up an injury last game, don’t know how bad it is but hopefully he won’t be out long.“
Dhawan's absence will be a huge jolt for the PBKS as he has been in a red hot form in the ongoing tournament and is also the holder of orange cap with 233 runs in a total of four games. In Dhawan's absence, PBKS handed a debut to hard-hitting Atharva Taide.
Talking about the match, PBKS' interim skipper Sam Curran won the toss and elected to bowl first against LSG.
“We'll bowl first. Something we haven't done all season. Shilkhar picked up an injury last game, don't know how bad it is but hopefully he won't be out long. His absence is huge, we've got two Indian batters coming in and Raza is back in the XI. The conditions looks good,” PBKS interim skipper Curran said after winning the toss.
“First game on this strip, anything would have worked. It is exciting to challenge ourselves on different conditions. It is our first season here, so each game we'll assess and modify. Every game we make a few changes, settle on a 12-13 and take a call depending on the game. Each game we have turned up and we have been challenged every time, but players have found answers. Everyone is enjoying the game and there is a good vibe around, really happy with the support we have got out here,” LSG captain KL Rahul said after the toss.
Follow the LSG vs PBKS' live scores here
Head-to-Head
In head-to-head encounters in Indian Premier League, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans have only played 1 game which happened in the last season. In the match, LSG managed to outplay PBKS by 20 runs while defending a 153-run total.
Pitch Report
It's hot but not too much wind. Short hit on the leg side, straight boundaries are the longest. This is a fresh wicket but it looks tired. It looks specky, some green patches but some very dry areas. It is a red soil pitch, expect the ball to come on better on this track.
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): KL Rahul(c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran(w), Ayush Badoni, Avesh Khan, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Mark Wood, Ravi Bishnoi.
Substitutes: Amit Mishra, Jaydev Unadkat, K Gowtham, Prerak Mankad, Daniel Sams
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Atharva Taide, Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.
Substitutes: Prabhsimran Singh, Nathan Ellis, Mohit Rathee, Rishi Dhawan.
ALSO READ:
RCB vs DC: Local pacer Vijaykumar Vyshak dazzles on RCB debut, DC batters succumb again in fifth consecutive defeat of IPL 2023
‘Coming in and hitting five sixes in a row to win a match, I mean what level is this?’: Virat Kohli stunned by Rinku Singh’s record-breaking feat
