Mullanpur: Table-toppers Punjab Kings will bank on their strong batting to continue their winning run against a struggling Lucknow Super Giants who will, however, be boosted by the presence of their skipper Rishabh Pant in their IPL match here on Sunday.PBKS, the only unbeaten side so far, have looked ominous this season with four wins from five matches, with one game against Kolkata Knight Riders washed out. The Shreyas Iyer-led side boasts a healthy net run rate of +1.067, thanks to their strong batting displays that have powered clinical chases.
The Kings have won nine of their last 11 matches while chasing since the 2025 season, underlining their dominance, and it was also seen in their recent win over Mumbai Indians. It will take something special from LSG to halt the home team’s momentum.
Lucknow, currently seventh in the points table, are reeling from back-to-back losses, but the return of Pant in Sunday’s match will be a relief for them. The LSG skipper had suffered an elbow injury in their previous match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
LSG bowling coach Bharat Arun told media ahead of the game against PBKS that Pant is “perfectly alright” and fit enough to play on Sunday.
Pant had retired hurt after facing just three deliveries. Though he returned later with his elbow heavily strapped, he managed only 1 off 6 balls, and his availability for Sunday’s game remains uncertain.
It was a one-sided contest against RCB as LSG could muster only 146, with Mukul Choudhary and Ayush Badoni providing some resistance.
Their batting has yet to click, with the side still to cross the 200-run mark this season. In contrast, Punjab have breached that mark twice and were cruising at 198 for 3 in 16.3 overs against MI in their last outing.
Punjab opener Prabhsimran Singh (211 runs) has been in outstanding touch, while skipper Iyer (203) has been equally impressive, striking at 172.95 and 187.96 respectively. The duo combined effectively in the win over MI. Priyansh Arya and Cooper Connolly have also contributed significantly to Punjab’s batting firepower.
On the bowling front, spearhead Arshdeep Singh returned to form with a fine 3/22 against MI.
Can LSG’s bowling attack stop PBKS?
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Prince Yadav has been Lucknow’s most successful bowler with nine wickets, followed by Avesh Khan (5) and Mohammed Shami (4), who was taken apart by Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar the other day.
Digvesh Rathi was also expensive in that game, conceding heavily to Jitesh Sharma and Tim David, and will need to bounce back.
In the batting department, Mukul Choudhary (127), Aiden Markram (120), Mitchell Marsh (115) and Ayush Badoni (113) have contributed the bulk of the runs. However, to turn things around, the batting unit needs to be more assertive.
Big names like Marsh and Markram must deliver in the powerplay, while Nicholas Pooran has been short of runs. For Lucknow to challenge Punjab, their batting must click collectively.
Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Vishnu Vinod (wk), Nehal Wadhera, Azmatullah Omarzai, Cooper Connolly, Marco Jansen, Musheer Khan, Mitchell Owen, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Suryansh Shedge, Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett, Yuzvendra Chahal, Praveen Dubey, Ben Dwarshuis, Lockie Ferguson, Harpreet Brar, Vishal Nishad, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur.
Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant (captain), Aiden Markram, Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Mukul Choudhary, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshin Kulkarni, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ayush Badoni, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, M Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Akash Singh, Prince Yadav, Arjun Tendulkar, Anrich Nortje, Naman Tiwari, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan.
Match starts at 7:30 PM. PTI ATK AH PDS KHS
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
