Punjab Kings (PBKS) won the toss and elected to bowl first against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their crucial Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium on May 6.
PBKS, who have suffered defeats in their previous two matches, brought in Shashank Singh and Lockie Ferguson in their playing XI. Meanwhile, Nitish Reddy walked into SRH's playing XI for the key showdown.
What did the captains say at the toss?
PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer, after losing the toss, said:
"We're going to bowl first. So far so good. We have got amazing learnings from our last couple of games. We got two losses, but still being at top of the table, it gives us immense motivation to come here and play today.Yes, there haven't been any complaints. People have been putting hard yards in the practice and also off the field. You have to keep yourself up and running all the time, especially with the travelling and also rejuvenation after the match. So, you know, a bunch of professionals can't complain and as long as you're in a great headspace, that's all that matters. I think the surface looks beautiful. There hasn't been a single piece of grass since the time I've seen it. So based on that, I chose bowling. And also, if you see, the last match we played against SRH over here was on this wicket and they chased 245. So that also being one reason I chose to bowl. Yes, absolutely (want to correct his record vs SRH). Shashank comes in and Lockie comes in."
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Meanwhile, SRH skipper Pat Cummins, after losing the toss, said:
"I also would have bowled first. Hopefully we come up great tonight. The crowds have supported us very well this season. I can't really judge the pitch, hopefull we will put some runs on the board. Nitish is back for us tonight."
Punjab Kings (Playing XI):
Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
PBKS' Impact Sub: Arya, Brar, Bartlett, Musheer, Vinod
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI):
Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain
SRH's Impact Sub: Abhishek, Head, Kishan, Klaasen, Smaran, Salil, Nitish, Cummins, Shivang, Malinga, Sakib