Players of both Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) observed a minute’s silence and wore black armbands before the start of their IPL 2026 match at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Friday in memory of those who lost their lives in the storms that hit Uttar Pradesh in the last few days.“In solidarity and remembrance. Today, we stand together in grief and remembrance, honouring the lives lost in the storms in Uttar Pradesh,” CSK’s official handles posted on X.Earlier, LSG captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and elected to bowl first against CSK.FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES:
A win for CSK would take them into the top four of the points table and improve their chances of qualifying for the playoffs. LSG are already out of the playoffs race and are playing for pride in their remaining matches.LSG made three changes to their playing XI, bringing in Akash Singh, Abdul Samad and Mukul Choudhary.After winning the toss, Pant said, “The wicket is looking a little bit tacky, so just did not need to go out there and bat ourselves. As a team, we have a lot to achieve. We are a team, we run on trust, and that is something we are looking forward to. We are trying a few things for the next season for sure. And just looking to give our 200 percent regardless of anything.“Definitely, there is no running away from the way we have played this season. But at the same time, there are a lot of positives that we can take because we are a little frustrated as a team as we know we have it in the team to do well.“We can make it happen and sometimes things don’t work your way, but at the same time, no complaints from that side. We’ve got to still play good cricket and look to improve ourselves each and every day..”CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said Spencer Johnson would make his debut for the franchise in place of injured Jamie Overton, while Gurjapneet Singh replaced Akeal Hosein during the side’s bowling innings.“It is a privilege to wear the yellow jersey. It is a venue where you have to bat and bowl well. There is a bit of moisture to start, but if we start well and get to 170-180 then it would be a challenging total.”Teams: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.