Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant, left, and Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer (AP Photo)

Punjab Kings won the crucial toss and elected to field first in their IPL 2026 match against Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium as they attempt to keep their fading playoff hopes alive. PBKS came into the competition under immense pressure after six consecutive defeats saw what once looked like a top-two campaign completely derailed. On April 25, Punjab were sitting comfortably on top of the table with 13 points from seven matches, but a dramatic drop in form has pushed them into a desperate battle for survival. captain Shreyas Iyer Deciding to give chase acknowledged the higher stakes in the competition. “We will bowl first. Two changes – Marco and Vishak are in. It is exciting, I would say it is a do or die match for us. “We have never been in this position before and the boys are looking forward to giving their best performance.” Punjab’s qualification equation is complicated. They not only need a win tonight, preferably by a solid margin, but also favorable results elsewhere. Rajasthan Royals The points kept falling and Kolkata Knight Riders failed to significantly improve their net run rate. The season is already out of control for Lucknow, but Captain Rishabh Pant He said his team wanted to finish strong despite a difficult campaign. “We would have also bowled first. This wicket is good for cricket regardless of bowling or batting. It is one of the better batting wickets, it can be a high-scoring match. There are two changes – Arjun and Arshin Kulkarni. It has been a tough season, but at the same time, there has been a lot to learn as a team and individually. I will apologize for the fans, they have come from all over UP. It is tough for us, but we will give our contribution. 100% today.“ Lucknow have also been badly hit by availability issues, with Mitchell Marsh missing out on tonight’s fixture along with overseas players Aiden Markram, Matthew Britzke and Anrich Nortje. Marsh’s absence is particularly significant as the Australian opening batsman has scored 563 runs this season and has formed a disastrous opening partnership with Josh Inglis in recent games.Teams:Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Josh Inglis, Arshin Kulkarni, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper/captain), Abdul Samad, Mukul Chaudhary, Arjun Tendulkar, Mohammed ShamiPrince Yadav, Mohsin Khanpunjab kings (Playing XI): Prabhsimran Singh (w), Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Vijaykumar Vishak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal. With Punjab’s season in jeopardy and Lucknow hoping to end on a positive note, the stakes remain high in Match 68 of IPL 2026.