Punjab Kings (PBKS) won the toss and elected to bowl first against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in an IPL 2023 match at IS Bindra Stadium, here on Friday.
Shikhar Dhawan has returned as captain for PBKS after missing a few matches due to his shoulder injury.
While PBKS have made two changes with Sikandar Raza coming in for Mathew Short and Gurnoor Brar making his debut, LSG are unchanged.
Speaking about his shoulder injury, PBKS skipper Dhawan said, "Shoulder is much better - pain free now".
"We're quite happy. Have got seven matches ahead, and are looking to win most of them. Two changes -- Short is out, Raza comes in. And a fast bowler will make his debut," he added.
On the other hand, the LSG captain KL Rahul said: " Motivation remains the same wherever I play. But yeah, I'm a lot more familiar with these conditions. Looks like a good wicket. Dew does become a factor, that's why teams opt to bowl."
Playing XIs:
Punjab Kings: Atharva Taide, Shikhar Dhawan(c), Sikandar Raza, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh
Subs: Prabhsimran Singh, Mohit Rathee, Rishi Dhawan, Matthew Short, Harpreet Brar
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul(c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran(w), Ayush Badoni, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Yash Thakur
Subs: Krishnappa Gowtham, Daniel Sams, Prerak Mankad, Amit Mishra, Mark Wood
