Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 38 of IPL 2026 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana International Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
LSG enter this fixture under serious pressure, having lost four matches in a row. Their most recent outing saw them fall short in a chase of 160 despite earlier doing well to restrict Rajasthan Royals. Mitchell Marsh finally found form with a half-century, but the batting lineup has struggled for consistency throughout the season. Their home record has also been a major concern, with three losses in three matches at Lucknow so far.
KKR, on the other hand, come into the game after a week-long break and their first win of the season against Rajasthan Royals. Varun Chakravarthy starred with an impressive 3 for 14 and was named Player of the Match, while Rinku Singh returned to form with a solid half-century. The team will look to build momentum from this victory, especially with reports suggesting Matheesha Pathirana could be available for selection.
The last meeting between the two sides on April 9 at Eden Gardens saw LSG edge out KKR in a thriller. KKR posted 181/4, thanks to contributions from Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, and Rovman Powell. However, LSG chased it down on the final ball, powered by Mukul Choudhary’s explosive 54 off 27 balls and Ayush Badoni’s crucial 54 off 34 deliveries.
Rishabh Pant’s captaincy record in IPL (LSG)
Matches: 64
Wins: 31
Losses: 32
N/R: 1
Win percentage: 49.21%
Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy record in IPL (KKR)
Matches: 45
Wins: 15
Losses: 28
N/R: 3
IPL 2026: LSG playing 11 vs KKR
Rishabh Pant is likely to hold the middle order together after his unbeaten 68 in the previous game. Mohammed Shami and Avesh Khan are expected to lead the new-ball attack with their pace and movement. The Ekana surface generally slows down and offers assistance to spinners as the match progresses, which could bring Manimaran Siddharth and Digvesh Singh Rathi into play. However, LSG might consider adding an extra seamer if dew becomes a significant factor later in the contest.
Lucknow Super Giants playing 11: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Manimaran Siddharth, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Digvesh Rathi / Prince Yadav
Impact Player options: Arshin Kulkarni or Shahbaz Ahmed (for balance depending on conditions).
LSG squad for IPL 2026: Rishabh Pant (WK-Batter), Ayush Badoni (Batting Allrounder), Matthew Breetzke (WK-Batter), Himmat Singh (Batter), Aiden Markram (Batter), Nicholas Pooran (WK-Batter), Arshin Kulkarni (Batting Allrounder), Mitchell Marsh (Batting Allrounder), Shahbaz Ahmed (Bowling Allrounder), Avesh Khan (Bowler), Mohammed Shami (Bowler), Prince Yadav (Bowler), Digvesh Singh Rathi (Bowler), Arjun Sachin Tendulkar (Bowling Allrounder), Mayank Prabhu Yadav (Bowler), Wanindu Hasaranga (Bowling Allrounder), Anrich Nortje (Bowler), Akshat Raghuwanshi (Batter), Josh Inglis (WK-Batter), Abdul Samad (Batting Allrounder), Akash Maharaj Singh (Bowler), Mohsin Khan (Bowler), Manimaran Siddharth (Bowler), Naman Tiwari (Bowler), Mukul Choudhary (WK-Batter)
IPL 2026: KKR playing 11 vs LSG
KKR are likely to open with Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi, though both have struggled for consistency in recent matches. Cameron Green, however, has regained form after a slow start, while Rovman Powell has been in excellent touch with 120 runs at a strong strike rate.
Rinku Singh ended his lean run with a match-winning fifty, and Anukul Roy contributed with both bat and ball. Ramandeep Singh still lacks impact despite opportunities. Sunil Narine continues to trouble batters with his economy, while Varun Chakravarthy looks back in rhythm. Matheesha Pathirana’s return adds a major boost to KKR’s bowling attack.
Kolkata Knight Riders playing 11: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi / Blessing Muzarabani, Varun Chakravarthy (if fit) or Matheesha Pathirana (if available)
Impact Player options: Navdeep Saini or Prashant Solanki.
KKR squad for IPL 2026: Ajinkya Rahane (Batter), Manish Pandey (Batter), Rovman Powell (Batter), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (Batter), Ramandeep Singh (Batting Allrounder), Rinku Singh (Batter), Sunil Narine (Bowling Allrounder), Anukul Roy (Batting Allrounder), Vaibhav Arora (Bowler), Umran Malik (Bowler), Varun Chakaravarthy (Bowler), Cameron Green (Batting Allrounder), Finn Allen (Batter), Matheesha Pathirana (Bowler), Kartik Tyagi (Bowler), Prashant Solanki (Bowler), Rahul Tripathi (Batter), Tim Seifert (WK-Batter), Rachin Ravindra (Batting Allrounder), Akash Deep (Bowler), Blessing Muzarabani (Bowler), Navdeep Saini (Bowler), Tejasvi Dahiya (WK-Batter), Sarthak Ranjan (Batter), Saurabh Dubey (Bowler), Daksh Kamra (Bowling Allrounder)
Angkrish Raghuvanshi vs Mohammed Shami
Angkrish Raghuvanshi has been one of the few bright spots for KKR in an otherwise inconsistent batting unit. The young right-hander leads his team’s run charts with 210 runs at a healthy strike rate of 142.85, showing good intent and composure.
He is set to face a tough challenge early on against Mohammed Shami, who will operate with the new ball. In their limited IPL matchups—just two encounters so far—Raghuvanshi has managed 11 runs at a strike rate of 122.22, indicating a fairly balanced but competitive mini-battle.
Aiden Markram vs Sunil Narine
Aiden Markram has been used in the middle order for LSG this season, adapting to a slightly different role than his usual top-order position. He is expected to come up against Sunil Narine after the powerplay, a matchup that could test his tempo control.
Their IPL history shows Narine has largely dominated this contest. In eight innings, Markram has scored only 47 runs at a strike rate of 92.15 and has been dismissed once, highlighting the West Indian spinner’s ability to keep him quiet.
Rishabh Pant vs Varun Chakravarthy
Varun Chakravarthy has rediscovered his rhythm recently, picking up five wickets in his last two matches while maintaining excellent economy. His resurgence strengthens KKR’s bowling attack significantly.
For Rishabh Pant, this is a challenging matchup given his struggles against mystery spin. Across six IPL meetings, Chakravarthy has dismissed Pant three times, restricting him to just 31 runs from 30 balls. This head-to-head remains a key battle in the middle overs.
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