In the IPL 2026 match held in Lucknow, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to bowl against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Pant described the pitch as 'tacky', with moisture concerns noted by CSK's captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. CSK made two changes due to an injury to allrounder Jamie Overton, giving a franchise debut to Australian left-arm quick Spencer Johnson, who has been recovering from a back injury and last played in IPL 2025. Gurjapneet Singh is expected to be the Impact Player for CSK later in the match. On the LSG side, they are already out of playoff contention and are looking towards the next season. They included Akash Singh in their lineup for his first match of the season against CSK. Middle-order batters Abdul Samad and Mukul Choudhary also returned to the team, while Avesh Khan was sidelined, allowing Mayank Yadav to play his third match of the season. If CSK wins, they will secure a spot in the top four, while LSG is focusing on long-term plans.