IPL 2026: Rishabh Pant wins toss; LSG opt to bowl first against RR

Rishabh Pant (File Pic)

Rishabh Pant won the toss and elected to bowl first as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. Rajasthan Royals are currently placed fourth in the points table with eight points, while Lucknow Super Giants sit ninth with just four points.

After winning the toss, Pant said LSG preferred to chase, citing the need to better understand the pitch conditions during the first innings. The LSG skipper added that the team is still adapting to the surfaces at the venue, which have posed challenges in recent matches. Notably, captains winning the toss in Lucknow have often preferred to bowl first.

"We are looking to bowl first. We've been playing in these conditions but are still figuring them out. The last few games have been challenging, and as players we are trying to find solutions. Just a subtle change - we have made two changes. He is a player who has shown a lot of trust," Rishabh Pant said.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag admitted he was also inclined to bowl first but was comfortable with either option. He confirmed that RR will field an unchanged playing XI from their previous match.

"I actually told my boys I would try to lose the toss because I was a bit confused, and I managed that quite well. So I'm happy with either bowling or batting. From our experience of a few domestic games here, the pitch tends to slow down later in the innings, so hopefully we can get a good start. I think we have been batting well. Even in the last game against Kolkata, we made a few miscalculations in the middle overs. But the way Jaiswal and Vaibhav batted in that situation was brilliant. Like I said, a few errors here and there. The message is that we need to play 40 overs of good cricket to expect a win. Hopefully we can do that tonight. Same team," Riyan Parag said.

Confirmed Playing XI for both teams:

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma, Nandre Burger

Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Mitchell Marsh, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Mukul Choudhary, Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Mayank Yadav