2026 indian premier league season Continues to deliver tactical masterclasses and high-stakes drama Punjab Kings (PBKS) host the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) In the 29th match of the tournament. The match, held at the picturesque Maharaja Yadvendra Singh International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, sees an interesting battle between two captains with contrasting fortunes: Shreyas IyerLeading an unstoppable PBKS chariot, and Rishabh PantTrying to bring faltering LSG back into playoff contention.
Winning the toss, Pant opted to bowl first citing the convenience of chasing and the high-scoring nature of the New Chandigarh track. However, the biggest talking point before the first ball was bowled was the absence of LSG’s budding spin sensation, Digvesh RathiFrom the starting lineup.
Why is Digvesh Rathi not playing against Punjab Kings in today’s match?
There is resentment in the entire cricket world over the exclusion of Rathi from the playing eleven. Rathi, who was seen as the prime spin option after LSG’s departure Ravi BishnoiFinds himself on the bench for this important encounter.
The decision appears to be a mix of strategic restructuring and recent changes. While Rathi has been impressive this season, taking three wickets in four matches, his last innings against RCB left him with no wickets and proved to be a bit expensive. Captain Pant clarified on the toss which option the team chose Manimaran Siddharth To provide a different dimension to the attack. Siddharth’s left-arm orthodox spin is seen as a strategic counter to the Punjab Kings top-order, which consists of explosive right-handed batsmen Shreyas Iyer And Prabhsimran Singh.
See also: Musheer Khan amusingly imitates Shreyas Iyer on the plane to Mullanpur ahead of PBKS vs LSG match
Playing XI and impressive options of both the teams
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI)
Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (WK/Captain), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Mukul Chaudhary, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, Prince Yadav, Manimaran Siddharth, Mohsin Khan.
Effect options: Abdul Samad, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Matthew Britzke, Mayank Yadav, Himmat Singh
punjab kings (Playing XI)
Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper), Priyansh Arya, cooper connollyShreyas Iyer (captain), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Johnson, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Effect options: Vijaykumar Vaishya, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Vishnu Vinod
See also: Shreyas Iyer’s brilliant fielding dismisses Hardik Pandya in MI vs PBKS IPL 2026 match