Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants cricketers observed a minute of silence ahead of their IPL 2026 match at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Friday. The silence was observed in remembrance of all the victims of the storms in Uttar Pradesh. The players also wore black armbands to honor the 100 people who reportedly died on Wednesday and Thursday after heavy rains and thunderstorms. Many more were reported to be injured, with the districts of Barabanki, Bahraich, Kanpur Dehat, Basti, Sambhal, Hardoi, and Unnao being severely affected in the past couple of days.
Coming to the match, LSG skipper Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to field against five-time champions CSK on a tacky red-soil pitch. CSK were forced into making changes after allrounder Jamie Overton was ruled out for the season due to thigh injury.
Australia’s left-arm quick Spencer Johnson, returning from a back injury and playing his first competitive game since IPL 2025, has been handed a CSK debut, while left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh would be their Impact Player ahead of left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Akeal Hosein.
A win would push CSK into the top four. LSG, already out of playoff contention, have given left-arm seamer Akash Singh his first outing of the campaign. Middle-order batsmen Abdul Samad and Mukul Choudhary have also returned at the expense of Himmat Singh and Akshat Raghuwanshi.
Tearaway quick Mayank Yadav was picked for his third match, with Avesh Khan missing out. Josh Inglis was not part of the starting eleven but is expected to come in as LSG’s Impact Player during the chase.
Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Spencer Johnson, Mukesh Choudhary.
Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (wk/c), Mukul Choudhary, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Yadav, Akash Maharaj Singh, Prince Yadav.
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