Indian Premier League 2026 - 29th Match
PBKS
0/0
vs
LSG
0/0
Match starts at Apr 19, 14:00 GMT
won the toss and chose to
Commentary
Preview
Any doubts over the youthful exuberance of the Punjab Kings' near-fairytale run in IPL 2025 not spilling over into another season have disappeared into thin air. Granted that they are just five games into their campaign but the Kings have looked every bit the team to beat.
They have been regular with the trend of chasing and even targets that ought to have been challenging - 210 against CSK, 220 against SRH and more recently, 196 against MI - were usurped with minimal fuss. So much so that Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh have had little to nothing to do so far. At least with the bat in the latter's case, for he has brought the Midas touch to the fore with the ball.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer has not just been in complete control of his troops, but has also been a class apart in mastering a chase. The uber-aggressive Priyansh Arya-Prabhsimran Singh combination has only made his life easier, while different players have put their hand up with the ball. No storyline would have brought a bigger sense of relief than Arshdeep Singh cutting MI's top-order to size, after an ordinary start to the tournament.
The story is a lot different in Lucknow Super Giants' case, as they arrive fresh of a hammering at the hands of RCB. It's been yet another stop-start campaign for a franchise still in search of its identity. Yet for a team that had question marks prevailing over its bowling composition, it's their star-studded batting lineup that has flattered to deceive.
None of Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran have posted a fifty in five games, with Pooran in particular enduring a nightmare 2026 in the format. Mukul Choudhary and Ayush Badoni have been impressive, while Prince Yadav has emerged as a shining light in a bowling department devoid of sufficient options.
One team with question marks continuing to mount. Another that continues to grow imperious with each passing game. On balance, this ought to be a mismatch. Except, cricket - especially in the IPL - seldom plays out that way.
When: PBKS vs LSG, April 19 at 7:30 PM IST
Where: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh
What to expect: A cloudy day with temperatures expected to cool in the evening. Contrasting totals of 162 and 219 have been chased down successfully this season, although this is a ground where getting ahead of the game in the Powerplay proves to be crucial.
Head to Head: It stands at 3-3 after six faceoffs. PBKS won both matches against the Super Giants last year while Sunday's game will be the first between the two sides in New Chandigarh.
Team News:
Punjab Kings
Injuries & Availability: Lockie Ferguson has still not joined the team. There is no other known injury or unavailability reported.
Tactics & Matchups: Arshdeep Singh has dismissed Aiden Markram 7 times (average 15.71) and Mitchell Marsh thrice (average 15) in T20s. Considering LSG's batting woes, PBKS will bank upon their lead pacer to set the game up with early breakthroughs again. The Super Giants have been the worst team against spin so far in IPL 2026 and that could prompt the Kings into playing Harpreet Brar, unless they opt to use Cooper Connolly's left-arm spin instead.
Probable XII: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Harpreet Brar/Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Lucknow Super Giants
Injuries & Availability: Rishabh Pant retired hurt in the previous game with a blow to the elbow and while he returned to bat, he did not take the field with Pooran stepping in as captain. That said, Pant hit the nets a day out of the game - albeit with an elbow brace on - and it does point towards the injury potentially not being a major one. There is no update on Josh Inglis' arrival in India. Super Giants' Global Director of Cricket Tom Moody declared that both Mohsin Khan and Mayank Yadav were fit ahead of the RCB game.
Tactics & Matchups: There is a case for Pant to open the innings and break the Marsh-Markram duo from facing Arshdeep. LSG may want to hand Himmat Singh an opportunity, considering Abdul Samad's poor run of form in the middle-order.
Probable XII: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Himmat Singh, Mukul Choudhary, George Linde/Mayank Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi
Did you know?
- Prabhsimran Singh was the POTM in both of PBKS' matches against LSG last season, with scores of 69 and 91.
- LSG are the most economical pace unit of IPL 2026 with an economy rate of 8.11.
- PBKS have won nine games out of 11 chasing since IPL 2025.
What they said:
"From a captaincy viewpoint, it's just experience. He's got older. He was very young when he was captaining in Delhi and he's just more experienced. He's very well-planned. He still follows his gut, even though he is well-planned. As I said, I can't speak highly enough for him. If you see him at training, you see him around the team hotel and that, he's just one of the boys as well, which I think really endears himself to the rest of the group" - PBKS' fast-bowling coach James Hopes on Shreyas Iyer
Any doubts over the youthful exuberance of the Punjab Kings' near-fairytale run in IPL 2025 not spilling over into another season have disappeared into thin air. Granted that they are just five games into their campaign but the Kings have looked every bit the team to beat.
They have been regular with the trend of chasing and even targets that ought to have been challenging - 210 against CSK, 220 against SRH and more recently, 196 against MI - were usurped with minimal fuss. So much so that Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh have had little to nothing to do so far. At least with the bat in the latter's case, for he has brought the Midas touch to the fore with the ball.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer has not just been in complete control of his troops, but has also been a class apart in mastering a chase. The uber-aggressive Priyansh Arya-Prabhsimran Singh combination has only made his life easier, while different players have put their hand up with the ball. No storyline would have brought a bigger sense of relief than Arshdeep Singh cutting MI's top-order to size, after an ordinary start to the tournament.
The story is a lot different in Lucknow Super Giants' case, as they arrive fresh of a hammering at the hands of RCB. It's been yet another stop-start campaign for a franchise still in search of its identity. Yet for a team that had question marks prevailing over its bowling composition, it's their star-studded batting lineup that has flattered to deceive.
None of Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran have posted a fifty in five games, with Pooran in particular enduring a nightmare 2026 in the format. Mukul Choudhary and Ayush Badoni have been impressive, while Prince Yadav has emerged as a shining light in a bowling department devoid of sufficient options.
One team with question marks continuing to mount. Another that continues to grow imperious with each passing game. On balance, this ought to be a mismatch. Except, cricket - especially in the IPL - seldom plays out that way.
When: PBKS vs LSG, April 19 at 7:30 PM IST
Where: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh
What to expect: A cloudy day with temperatures expected to cool in the evening. Contrasting totals of 162 and 219 have been chased down successfully this season, although this is a ground where getting ahead of the game in the Powerplay proves to be crucial.
Head to Head: It stands at 3-3 after six faceoffs. PBKS won both matches against the Super Giants last year while Sunday's game will be the first between the two sides in New Chandigarh.
Team News:
Punjab Kings
Injuries & Availability: Lockie Ferguson has still not joined the team. There is no other known injury or unavailability reported.
Tactics & Matchups: Arshdeep Singh has dismissed Aiden Markram 7 times (average 15.71) and Mitchell Marsh thrice (average 15) in T20s. Considering LSG's batting woes, PBKS will bank upon their lead pacer to set the game up with early breakthroughs again. The Super Giants have been the worst team against spin so far in IPL 2026 and that could prompt the Kings into playing Harpreet Brar, unless they opt to use Cooper Connolly's left-arm spin instead.
Probable XII: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Harpreet Brar/Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Lucknow Super Giants
Injuries & Availability: Rishabh Pant retired hurt in the previous game with a blow to the elbow and while he returned to bat, he did not take the field with Pooran stepping in as captain. That said, Pant hit the nets a day out of the game - albeit with an elbow brace on - and it does point towards the injury potentially not being a major one. There is no update on Josh Inglis' arrival in India. Super Giants' Global Director of Cricket Tom Moody declared that both Mohsin Khan and Mayank Yadav were fit ahead of the RCB game.
Tactics & Matchups: There is a case for Pant to open the innings and break the Marsh-Markram duo from facing Arshdeep. LSG may want to hand Himmat Singh an opportunity, considering Abdul Samad's poor run of form in the middle-order.
Probable XII: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Himmat Singh, Mukul Choudhary, George Linde/Mayank Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi
Did you know?
- Prabhsimran Singh was the POTM in both of PBKS' matches against LSG last season, with scores of 69 and 91.
- LSG are the most economical pace unit of IPL 2026 with an economy rate of 8.11.
- PBKS have won nine games out of 11 chasing since IPL 2025.
What they said:
"From a captaincy viewpoint, it's just experience. He's got older. He was very young when he was captaining in Delhi and he's just more experienced. He's very well-planned. He still follows his gut, even though he is well-planned. As I said, I can't speak highly enough for him. If you see him at training, you see him around the team hotel and that, he's just one of the boys as well, which I think really endears himself to the rest of the group" - PBKS' fast-bowling coach James Hopes on Shreyas Iyer
Squads:
Punjab Kings Squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Nehal Wadhera, Vishnu Vinod, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Mitchell Owen, Vishal Nishad, Pyla Avinash, Musheer Khan, Harnoor Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Lockie Ferguson, Praveen Dubey, Ben Dwarshuis
Lucknow Super Giants Squad: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant(c), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary(w), Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Prince Yadav, George Linde, Himmat Singh, Josh Inglis, Anrich Nortje, Manimaran Siddharth, Matthew Breetzke, Mohsin Khan, Arjun Tendulkar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Maharaj Singh, Mayank Yadav, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Arshin Kulkarni, Naman Tiwari