[[{“value”:”
In the IPL 2026 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Punjab Kings` (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer has won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.
The Kings have entered the clash with two changes, with Nehal Wadhera making way for Shashank Singh, and Lockie Ferguson has replaced Xavier Bartlett.
After winning the toss, PBKS`s captain Shreyas 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”.
“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,” he added.
On the other hand, the Sunrisers have made just one change, where Nitish Kumar Reddy has come in place of Aniket Verma.
SRH`s skipper Pat Cummins said, “Yeah, we would have had a bowl as well. But, you know, we`ve won a lot of games batting first, so not so upset. Yeah, that`s right. Wasn`t our day a couple of days ago, but I think we won five on the trot before that. Really positive group. We don`t have to look far back before looking at ourselves at our best. Absolutely, yeah (great support). They`ve been awesome the last few years. They love seeing good positive cricket, so hopefully we bring more of that tonight. Yeah, I can`t read pitches. They all seem to be pretty high scoring here. Maybe it slows up towards the end of the innings. It`s one positive bowling second, you get a decent look at the first innings. Nitish is back from illness. He comes in for Aniket”.
IPL 2026, Punjab Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Confirmed Playing XIs
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (C), Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Ravichandran Smaran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins (C), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain.
“}]]
