Lucknow : Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will face Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a survival clash between the bottom two teams in the 38th match of the IPL 2026 season on Sunday, April 26, at 7:30 PM at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow. The ground is expected to host an intense and high-stakes contest as both teams fight to stay alive in the tournament. The inclusion of Matheesha Pathirana is very likely for today’s match, which could significantly strengthen KKR’s bowling unit.
In their first face-off this season at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, LSG’s Mukul Choudhary played a crucial role in securing victory. At this stage of the season, LSG have lost four matches back-to-back and are currently in 9th position with 4 points from 2 wins and 5 losses. On the other hand, KKR recently broke their long losing streak by earning their first 2 points and are placed at the bottom of the table in 10th position.
LSG are struggling with batting consistency, as their wickets keep falling regularly. Although their bowling unit has performed well, the major concern remains their batting lineup, which looks out of form. On the other hand, Varun Chakravarthy returned to his vintage form in the last match, bringing strength back to KKR’s spin duo. Rinku Singh and Anukul Roy built a strong partnership that helped successfully chase the target in their previous match. However, KKR’s openers have not contributed much, which is putting pressure on the middle order and finishers.
Matheesha Pathirana has joined the KKR squad after recovering from injury and is likely to play today, though there is no official confirmation yet. In the pre-match press conference, Anukul Roy said: “He has been practicing with us for the past week. However, you will know for sure whether he will play or not tomorrow when the toss is held.”
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Squad: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Manish Pandey, Finn Allen, Tejasvi Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert, Rovman Powell, Anukul Roy, Cameron Green, Sarthak Ranjan, Daksh Kamra, Rachin Ravindra, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Blessing Muzarabani, Vaibhav Arora, Matheesha Pathirana, Kartik Tyagi, Prashant Solanki, Saurabh Dubey, Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Varun Chakravarthy.
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane, Tim Seifert/Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Kartik Tyagi, Matheesha Pathirana/Vaibhav Arora.
Impact Player: Varun Chakravarthy.
LSG Squad: Rishabh Pant, Aiden Markram, Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Mukul Choudhary, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Josh Inglis, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arshin Kulkarni, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ayush Badoni, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, M. Siddharth, Digvesh Singh, Akash Singh, Prince Yadav, Arjun Tendulkar, Anrich Nortje, Naman Tiwari, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan.
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Ayush Badoni, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant, Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Himmat Singh, Mukul Choudhary, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Yadav, Digvesh Rathi, Mohsin Khan.
Impact Player: Prince Yadav.
The weather in Lucknow for today’s match is expected to be hot and dry. At the start of the match around 7:30 PM IST, the temperature will be around 32–33°C and will gradually drop to 27–28°C later in the evening. The conditions will remain hazy with low humidity and light cloud cover, making it slightly uncomfortable but manageable for players. Importantly, there is almost no chance of rain, so a full and uninterrupted match is expected. As for the pitch, the Ekana Cricket Stadium surface is known to be slightly tricky and not a flat batting track. It usually offers good pace and bounce early on for fast bowlers, but as the game progresses, it slows down and assists spinners. Reports suggest a black-soil surface for today, which means the ball may grip and turn more in the second innings, making stroke play difficult. Overall, it is considered a balanced to bowling-friendly pitch, where big scores are not easy. The average first-innings score is around 160–175, although recent matches have seen slightly higher totals. Spinners are expected to play a key role, and teams with strong spin attacks will have an advantage. This clash will be interesting as both teams look to make a comeback in the tournament and keep their hopes alive.
