IPL 2025 PBKS vs LSG | Kings will hope for a winning start at their new den

HPCA Stadium hosts Punjab Kings vs Lucknow Super Giants in crucial IPL match, with players capturing picturesque moments.

Dark clouds hung ominously for much of the day, and then it rained pretty heavily. The HPCA Stadium still looked pretty as a picture.

“The first thing the players – especially the foreign ones – after reaching the ground do is to take out their phones (and click pictures),” Punjab Kings assistant coach Brad Haddin said on the eve of the IPL match against Lucknow Super Giants.

This is the first match for Kings at their second home ground. They have finished their assignments at their base of New Chandigarh, and their last three home games are to be played here.

They should be looking to make the most out of the home advantage, with the league in its business end. They are very much in the race for the playoffs, having won six of their 10 games.

One of those wins was against LSG. Skipper Shreyas Iyer and opener Prabhsimran Singh cracked half-centuries in that away match, a month ago. The two men have continued their merry run, and along with Priyansh Arya, they form a formidable top-order.

There is balance in the bowling attack, comprising the likes of Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal and Marco Jansen. The LSG bowling is bolstered by the return of the fiery Mayank Yadav.

The visitor, which is also fancying its chances to move to the last four, must be hoping its captain Rishabh Pant finds his touch again. The overseas batters – Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram – have delivered though.