IPL 2026 Today Match, KKR vs LSG Toss Update: Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and elected to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 15 of the IPL 2026 at Eden Gardens on Thursday, April 9, 2026. Pant said the decision to field first was aimed at putting early pressure on the opposition.
IPL 2026, KKR vs LSG Today Match – Live Cricket Score, Full Scorecard: Follow Here
Lucknow have named an unchanged playing XI, backing the same combination after their previous win. Kolkata, led by Ajinkya Rahane, have made one change, bringing in Sunil Narine in place of Blessing Muzarabani, while Varun Chakaravarthy continues to recover from a hand injury.
Kolkata are still searching for their first win of the season, having managed just one point after their previous match against Punjab Kings was washed out. Lucknow, meanwhile, come into the contest with momentum, having defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad to register their first win and move to two points from two games.
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Playing XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Navdeep Saini, Kartik Tyagi
Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Manimaran Siddharth, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Prince Yadav
Impact Substitutes
Kolkata Knight Riders: Manish Pandey, Vaibhav Arora, Tejasvi Dahiya, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert
Lucknow Super Giants: Ayush Badoni, Matthew Breetzke, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mayank Yadav, Himmat Singh
Pitch Report
According to Deep Dasgupta and Faf du Plessis, the Eden Gardens surface is expected to produce a high-scoring contest. The ground dimensions — around 65 metres square on one side, 64 on the other and 74 metres straight — along with a quick outfield, traditionally aid stroke play. However, the pitch being used is the same as the previous game and appears slightly drier, with visible dry patches.
Du Plessis noted that teams will need to assess conditions early, particularly to judge any swing on offer with the new ball. He added that the drier surface could bring spinners into play, especially from one end.
Dasgupta pointed out that while the pitch looks good for batting with the ball expected to come onto the bat nicely, there could be some assistance for seamers early on.
With rain in the air, both experts suggested that chasing could be advantageous, considering the potential impact of the Duckworth-Lewis method in a shortened game.
