Picture Credit: IPL
Ahead of the Lucknow Super Giants match against Punjab Kings later this evening, it is being reported that Team Lucknow's CEO Raghu Iyer has met with a serious accident. Raghu was reportedly travelling along with the team bus from the hotel to the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune which is when the incident happened as per initial reports.
This is a huge blow for a team set to play a match in a little over an hour's time. From what is being learnt, Raghu was travelling along with 2 other people in a car which was following the team bus when the accident happened. While the people involved have sustained injuries, they are reportedly out of danger.
In 8 matches so far, Lucknow have won 5 matches and have faced a defeat in the other 3. This is the first time that captain KL Rahul will be up against his childhood friend Mayank Agarwal who is leading the Punjab Kings tonight.
"Quite balanced, we are going to look at this as another game, another opportunity for us to get two points. We all enjoy playing this tournament and every game is important. Regardless of which opposition we are playing, we try to enjoy our cricket, try and execute our plans. This is one game I wouldn't be wishing well for Mayank," Rahul said at the toss where Punjab opted to bowl first.
However, Rahul also said that dew hasn't been a factor which makes it an even contest between the two sides. The Lucknow team have made a solitary change to their Playing XI from their last match, roping in Avesh Khan in place of Manish Pandey. Punjab, on the other hand, are playing with the same side.
Playing XIs:
Lucknow Super Giants: Quinton de Kock (wk), KL Rahul (c), Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Ayush Badoni, Krunal Pandya, Jason Holder, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan
Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Sandeep Sharma, Arshdeep Singh