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Punjab Kings (PBKS) have won the toss and chose to bowl first against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the 21st match of IPL 2023 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Saturday, April 15.
PBKS have suffered a massive blow in the form of Shikhar Dhawan's absence. The Punjab skipper will miss the fixture due to a niggle, with English all-rounder Sam Curran leading the side. Sikandar Raza is also a part of the playing XI.
LSG, meanwhile, have included debutant Yudhvir Singh Charak in their starting XI.
Here is the list of substitute players for the match:
Lucknow Super Giants: Amit Mishra, Jaydev Unadkat, K Gowtham, Prerak Mankad, and Daniel Sams.
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh, Nathan Ellis, Mohit Rathee, and Rishi Dhawan.
LSG were the first team to use the Impact Player sub. They brought in Krishnappa Gowtham in place of Kyle Mayers.
The visitors brought in opener Prabhsimran Singh in place of leg-spinner Rahul Chahar as their Impact Player sub.
PBKS' stand-in skipper Sam Curran asserted that Dhawan's absence will be a massive blow to the side.
"We'll bowl first," Curran said at the toss. "Something we haven't done all season so just needed a change-up. Also, our first toss that we have won this season. Shilkhar picked up an injury last game, don't know how bad it is but hopefully, he won't be out long.
"His absence is huge, we've got two Indian batters coming in and Raza is back in the XI. The conditions looks good."
LSG skipper KL Rahul, meanwhile, stated that as this is the first IPL 2023 match on the surface, he isn't worried about batting or bowling first.
"First game on this strip, anything would have worked. It is exciting to challenge ourselves on different conditions. It is our first season here, so each game we'll assess and modify. Every game we make a few changes, settle on a 12-13 and take a call depending on the game," Rahul said.
LSG vs PBKS Playing XIs
Lucknow Super Giants: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ayush Badoni, Avesh Khan, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Mark Wood, and Ravi Bishnoi.
Punjab Kings: Atharva Taide, Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sikandar Raza, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran (c), Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, and Arshdeep Singh.
