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In the IPL 2026 match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Lucknow Super Giants` (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant has won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow.
The Super Giants will enter the clash with just one change, where George Linde will come in place of Manimaran Siddharth.
After winning the toss, LSG`s skipper Pant said, “We`re gonna bowl first, we want to again put the opposition in the back first and just find the answer as a batting group. Just one change, Linde comes in for Siddharth. Definitely we are working towards it, when there are lots of leaders in the family, you have to find a way and we are pretty close to finding ways and we gotta just stick together, stay tight, because we know that we can turn around the season from here and I`m pretty confident to make it happen. See definitely any kind of confidence is definitely needed and we`ll take that one too”.
On the other hand, KKR`s captain Ajinkya Rahane said, “We were looking to bat first. At the moment, you know, for us, it`s important to see how we are playing as a team. So the bowling unit`s, I felt coming well, nicely together. The reason we wanted to bat first because, you know, giving that freedom to our batting unit so they can bat freely and then as I said, the bowling unit is coming together. But again, in the end, you`ve got to just assess the conditions quickly, whether you bat first or bowl first and win those crucial moments in these power plays. We`re going with the same team. The must needed week off for us, all of us, especially that victory was really important from team point of view. The morale was really good. But obviously the last two, three days, sitting back and sitting together as a team, reflecting on last seven games, what are the things we did right, the areas which we can improve. It`s always about the improvement, each and every game. We had a good couple of practice sessions, looking forward to the game”.
IPL 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants: Confirmed Playing XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Tim Seifert (WK), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi.
Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Mukul Choudhary, George Linde, Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi, Mohsin Khan.
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