NEW DELHI: Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to bat first against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2026 match in Lucknow on Friday.LSG benched Aussie batsman Josh Inglis, however he was on the impact player list and is expected to bat in the second innings.Abdul Samad and Mukul Choudhary started for LSG, while for CSK, Spencer Johnson made his debut in the yellow jersey.“We’ll look at the bowl first. The wicket looks a bit off, so we didn’t have to go out there and bat ourselves. We have a lot to achieve as a team. We’re a team, we run on confidence and that’s something we’re looking forward to. I think he’s playing a lot like Akash today. And I think he’s getting his first chance this season. And we’re trying to give ourselves our first chance for next season. 200% no matter what (Does it relax you or does it mean more pressure on you because the performances weren’t what you wanted?) It’s definitely not possible to run away from the way we’ve played this season because we’re a bit frustrated as a team because we know we can do it in the team but it’s still not working.While CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said, “It’s a privilege to have (the support), a privilege to wear the yellow jersey. It’s the kind of place where they have to bat well and mix well. So I think we have to put up a good score first by batting and we’ve seen that defended as well. So I think, yes, it might suit and look like we start with a little bit of batting, but well I think around 170-180, that will be a good number on defense (How do you deal with all the injuries?) It’s tough, you have to keep changing a lot once you find the momentum and once you find the team you want to keep going, but that’s something we can’t control and that’s why I think the CPL gives an opportunity to be anything Urvil came in and at some point that helped their individual growth as well. that we’re going to win. Well, since we want to play it’s tough Keep looking down, just like the field, adapt to it and make sure we’re the best team to adapt.Teams:Chennai Super Kings (Playing XI): Sanju Samson (w), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh ChoudharyLucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (w/c), Mukul Choudhary, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Yadav, Akash Maharaj Singh, Prince Yadav. Substitutes for both teams:Chennai Super Kings Impact Subs: Cast: Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hosein, Sarfaraz Khan, Matthew Short, Matt HenryLucknow Super Giants Impact Subs:Josh Inglis, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Himmat Singh, Ayush Badoni
