LSG vs PBKS Preview: Lucknow and Punjab go head to head in Ekana

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will hope to secure their first home victory of IPL 2025 as they take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 13 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, April 1. The attention will be on skipper Rishabh Pant, IPL’s costliest player, who is yet to make a strong impact with the bat. After a forgettable start, scoring 0 and 15 in the first two matches, he will be looking to turn things around.

LSG holds the edge in head-to-head records, winning three out of four matches against PBKS. Pant’s captaincy debut for LSG began with a disappointing one-wicket loss to Delhi Capitals, but the team bounced back with a comfortable five-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, thanks to Nicholas Pooran’s 70 off 23 balls and Mitchell Marsh’s 52 off 31.

For PBKS, Shreyas Iyer has already begun the season on a high, smashing an unbeaten 97 off 42 balls against Gujarat Titans in their season opener. Alongside him, Shashank Singh and young Priyansh Arya have strengthened the PBKS batting lineup. Coming off a six-day gap, Punjab will be fresh and happy to be back on the field to carry on their winning confidence.

The Ekana pitch, which helps the spinners, could see LSG’s spin trio of Ravi Bishnoi, Digvesh Rathi, and Shahbaz Ahmed play an important role, while PBKS have the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal and Glenn Maxwell in the mix. Arshdeep Singh and Vijaykumar Vyshak will be looking to create the same damage as they did in the previous fixture.

Pitch Report

The Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow is not known for producing high-scoring games. Unlike other IPL venues, it usually has slow and turning tracks, making life difficult for batters. Spinners tend to dominate here, and the large boundaries add to the challenge of clearing the ropes. The match, which will be played on a red-soil pitch, will have a good grass cover, which could assist pacers early on. Since 2023, the average first-innings score in T20s here has been 169. With no rain forecast and temperatures between 25-30°C, the weather won’t be a factor.

Probable Playing XI

Lucknow Super Giants

Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Abdul Samad, David Miller, Ayush Badoni, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav

Impact Player: Mitchell Marsh

Punjab Kings

Prabhsimran Singh(w), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Suryansh Shedge, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Impact Player: Vyshak Vijaykumar