Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul won the toss and elected to bowl first against Chennai Super Kings in match 34 of Indian Premier League 2024 in Lucknow. LSG have left out rising West Indian seamer Shamar Joseph from their playing XI and played Kiwi fast bowler Matt Henry instead. (Match Blog | Scorecard)

As for CSK, Ruturaj Gaikwad's side has replaced Kiwi top-order batter Daryl Mitchell with English all-rounder Moeen Ali, and Indian medium pacer Shardul Thakur with compatriot Deepak Chahar.

Explaining his rationale for fielding first, Rahul said: "Looks like a good wicket. Dew hasn't been a big factor. Hopefully it stays good for 40 overs. They would like to know what they are chasing."

Rahul added: "There weren't any blunders we made. Last game against KKR was a big defeat. Still pretty relaxed. I know it's halfway mark. As a leadership group, if we panic it spreads. That's not what I like to be.

"Great support staff. We are trying to keep as relaxed as possible. The pitches have been relaid here. Each time you play, it can be different."

Playing XIs

Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (wk/c), Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Matt Henry, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur.

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (wk), Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana.

Injury to tearaway speedster Mayank Yadav has derailed LSG's campaign as they have lost their last two matches, while CSK have earned strong victories in their previous two games. With Mayank's return still uncertain, CSK are aiming to complete a hat-trick of victories and climb to the second spot in the IPL points table.

LSG, who have six points in as many games so far, will slip further if they do not return to form today.