LSG Opt to Bowl Against KKR; George Linde Included as Both Teams Eye Turnaround

Lucknow, April 2026: Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and elected to bowl first against Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 38 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Both sides entered the contest under pressure, desperate for a win to revive their struggling campaigns. LSG have managed just two victories in seven matches and are languishing in ninth place on the points table, while KKR have fared even worse, with only one win from seven games, placing them at the bottom.

After opting to field, Pant confirmed a change in the playing XI, with left-arm spinner George Linde replacing M Siddharth. Explaining his decision, Pant said the team wants to apply early pressure on the opposition and is focused on finding solutions as a batting unit.

“We want to put the opposition under pressure first and then figure things out as a batting group. We are working towards improving. When there are many leaders in the team, it’s about finding the right balance. We are close to clicking as a unit and just need to stay together and believe we can turn things around,” Pant said, expressing confidence in a mid-season revival.

On the other hand, KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane decided to stick with an unchanged playing XI, signalling faith in his squad despite recent setbacks. “We are close to finding solutions. The team believes we can bounce back, and I am confident we will turn things around soon,” Rahane said.

The match presents a crucial opportunity for both teams to regain momentum in the tournament, with the competition entering a decisive phase.

Playing XIs:

Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (captain & wicketkeeper), Ayush Badoni, Nicholas Pooran, Mukul Choudhary, George Linde, Digvesh Rathi, Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav, Mohsin Khan.

Impact Substitutes (LSG): Himmat Singh, Akshat Raghuvanshi, Abdul Samad, Avesh Khan, M Siddharth.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Tim Seifert (wicketkeeper), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora.

Impact Substitutes (KKR): Manish Pandey, Finn Allen, Tejasvi Singh Dahiya, Navdeep Saini, Varun Chakaravarthy.

With both teams eager to reverse their fortunes, the clash promises to be a crucial encounter in shaping their campaigns in IPL 2026.