Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 4 (ANI): Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant won the toss and elected to bowl first against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on Sunday.

Punjab are coming into this clash on the back of an impressive four-wicket win against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk; they are currently stationed at No. 4 on the points table. LSG will return to action after a long break. They lost their last two games against Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. Lucknow is currently at No. 6 on the points table.

'We will bowl first. We feel it is a bowling first. We don't know how it is going to play. Looks like, it will stop a bit. Little loose on the top. Still, a good wicket. It is going to be a good match. Bowling first we will have the advantage and see how the game unfolds and that's the kinda of advantage we were looking to have. Just trying to be simple more often. You want people to have conversation when you are losing. Good to see youngsters stepping in,' Pant said after winning the toss.

At the toss time, PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer said, 'We would have bowled first as well. The wicket was covered for a while and it was pouring yesterday and the day before. It was under the sheets and you know the moisture it adopts to. The grass is thicker. I don't want to predict how the wicket is going to be. We are up for the competition. You gotta to take positives from the game. You can't dwell on how bad you have done in a match. We need to be in high spirits. That's the culture and camaraderie in the team. Stoinis comes in.'

Teams:

Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant (wk/c), Abdul Samad, Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Akash Maharaj Singh, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav.

Lucknow Super Giants Impact Subs: Ravi Bishnoi, Mitchell Marsh, Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Shahbaz Ahmed.

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh.

Punjab Kings Impact Subs: Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harpreet Brar, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Xavier Bartlett. (ANI)